Behind the Mask
by Lovinyou7
Summary: Catherine winds up in an abusive relationship. She must speak up before it's too late, but there's one thing holding her back... Lindsey.
1. Chapter 1

**This story takes place in season 7. I decided to explore this possibility, and see where it took me. I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

><p>It had been a little over two months since they got married. Catherine and Simon had been married after spending one night on the strip together. She had met him at a bar, and he seemed nice so they had a drink together, and then another, and then another. They were both completely wasted when they got married that night. Catherine had no memory of any of it. She woke up the next morning with a ring around her finger, and his gentle arm around her. He was nice at first, and she thought they may be able to make it work.<p>

It took her forever to explain it all to her fourteen-year-old daughter Lindsey. Lindsey was extremely upset at first, and would not accept it, she wouldn't ever come home at night. She would stay at her friend's house every night. After a couple days, she started to get used to this new guy in her life. He was nice to her, and her mom seemed happy. It took a while, but they were finally one happy family.

But then things changed.

It was only three days after Lindsey had accepted Simon as her new dad when, he started to get aggressive with Catherine. He hit her for the first time.

The abuse continued to get worse and worse as time went by, but never when Lindsey was around. He used Lindsey as his hook in Catherine. Lindsey was happy for the first time in a long time, and he knew that was all Catherine cared about.

Catherine never told anyone at work about the marriage or abuse.

* * *

><p>Catherine got home from work after having to pull a double. She knew Simon would not be happy, but there was nothing she could do about it. She contemplated not going home that morning, but she knew he would be enraged if she didn't show up two days in a row. Besides, she had nowhere else to go.<p>

She walked into her house slowly, not knowing what would be ahead when she entered. When she stepped inside the house she found Simon sitting on the couch with a beer in his hand. He drank while she was at work, and came home just after Lindsey had left for school. He was drunk just about every time she arrived at her house, and she regretted ever coming home every time.

She hesitated before speaking to him, thinking he might not have noticed her coming in. "Hey."

"Where were you?" Simon said, it was obvious he was drunk and angry.

"I had to pull a double, I tried to get away, but they wouldn't let me leave." She said trying to pretend nothing was wrong.

"Is there anything you'd like to say to me?"

"I'm sorry, Simon. It won't happen again."

Simon stood up. "Aaaand..."

"...And I'll do anything to make it up to you."

"Anything?" He asked getting excited. He had trained her to say what he wanted, and got excited when she did what he wanted without him having to tell her what to say.

"Yes, anything." She cringed as the words fell from her mouth. She knew what it meant.

He slapped her across the face. She held her cheek, and braced herself for the beating that was sure to follow.

"You call me if you're not coming home! You understand that!?" He yelled.

Catherine bit her lip in order to hold in the cry that was sure to escape her lips the moment she opened her mouth. She looked away from him, not able to look at him while he was this angry. She liked to remember the better times she spent with him, and avoided his gaze as much as possible while he beat her.

He slapped her again. "Answer me!"

She could barely get out a, "y-yes."

"Anything else you want to say!?"

Catherine stood quiet, she opened her mouth, but couldn't find the will to speak. She knew what would come next if she didn't answer, but still no sound came from her mouth.

He grabbed her chin, and held her face up, forcing her to look at him. "What? You're not gonna answer me? Your choice." He grabbed her forcefully, and threw her against the wall.

She screamed out in pain as her back hit a picture on the wall, shattering it completely. The glass shards fell by her feet, but just missed cutting her. She walked toward him, and he threw her to the ground. She let out a whine, and a tear slipped from her eye. She hated herself for crying in front of him, but she couldn't help it, and the tears kept coming.

"Are you gonna answer me?"

"I-I'm sorry. I-I know I deserve this." She said in tears, lying on the ground. She was willing to say anything to get him to stop.

He smiled at what he heard. "That's better." His foot then, made contact with her stomach, and she moaned grasping her stomach. This made him happy, and he kicked her again. His adrenaline was pumping, and he couldn't stop.

The last thing Catherine saw was his foot coming at her straight in the face before she blacked out.

He always stopped after she blacked out, he thought it took away the fun.

* * *

><p>When Catherine finally re-gained consciousness, she was in her bed. Simon was already gone, and she looked at the time. She had a few hours before she needed to be at work. Then she saw a note on her nightstand, <em>I'm sorry I had to do that last night. You come home on time today, and I'll make it up to you. I love you. -Simon<em>_  
><em>

She got to her feet, and showered the dried blood from her, and applied heavy makeup to any exposed skin. She wore a long-sleeved shirt, and long pants to cover most of the bruises. She checked on Lindsey who was sitting in her room with music blaring. She put the music on pause when Catherine entered.

"Hey mom."

"Hey, Lindsey. You alright?"

"Yeah." Lindsey said completely unaware of the entire situation.

That was the reason she stayed with Simon. Lindsey was happy.

"Whaat?" Lindsey asked noticing her mom staring at her.

"Nothing." She said, and left Lindsey's room. Her phone went off, and she realized Grissom had been trying to get a hold of her for about an hour now. She answered her phone. "Willows. I'll be right there. Bye." She said, and hung up the phone, and headed out the door.

* * *

><p>They had got a call out to a house where they found a woman dead with stab wounds in her back. Nick was processing the perimeter while Warrick was with David and the victim's body in the kitchen. "Victim was 25 years old. Angela Peters." David said looking at the license.<p>

Catherine walked in, and headed to the back of the house. She found a little girl's room, and she shook her head. It didn't look like any fights had took place in there, she was relieved at that. After putting on her gloves, Catherine walked over to the nightstand, and picked up a picture of the girl with her mom, that she recognized as the victim. Then she felt something at her leg. Catherine jumped back and then looked down there was nothing there. She was confused, and looked under the bed.

A six-year-old girl was under the bed shaking terribly, and looked at Catherine with wide eyes when she was spotted under the bed. "Hey, it's okay. Come here, you're safe. I'm the police, come on out. It's okay." Catherine said, and the girl made her way out from under the bed, and hugged Catherine tightly. She cried in Catherine's arms unmoving for a while.

Catherine's body was hurting as the girl hugged her. She didn't mind though, the girl didn't have much strength anyway. As she was hugging the girl she couldn't help but to think of her own daughter, Lindsey. _What if something happened to me, and Lindsey was left here all alone. _Her next thought sent chills down her spine. _She wouldn't be alone... she'd be with Simon._ She stopped her thoughts, she couldn't afford to think like that. _Simon wouldn't kill me, he needs me._ She tried to rationalize, but she knew it wasn't true. Simon would just go and find some other woman to beat on, and drag Lindsey with him, or possibly beat on Lindsey.

When Catherine stopped her thoughts, she was surprised to find herself with the little girl outside. Catherine knelt down by her. "My name is Catherine, what's your name?"

"Laicey." She said softly.

"That's a really pretty name. How old are you?"

"Six."

"I liked that age. Why don't you hop up in that ambulance, and they can make sure you're alright? Does that sound good?"

"I want my mom. Can you get her for me?"

Catherine tried to hold back the tears, but they fell anyway. "Honey, someone hurt your mom, very badly."

"I know." Laicey said, then fell quiet.

"Laicey, do you know who hurt your mom?"

Laicey didn't respond, she just pulled her legs close to her chest, and rested her head on her knees.

"Laicey, can you answer me?" Catherine asked, but still didn't get a response. She felt Laicey drifting farther and farther away in her thoughts, and decided not to push her.

Catherine left Laicey with the paramedics, and helped to finish processing the house.

* * *

><p>Catherine arrived at the hospital, and talked to a nurse before entering Laicey's room. Laicey had completely shut down since she last talked to Catherine, and hadn't spoken a word since.<p>

"Hey, Laicey, do you remember me?"

Laicey nodded, but still didn't speak.

"I need to talk to you. About what happen."

Laicey looked down. "My daddy."

"What about your daddy, sweetie?"

Laicey was quiet again, and Catherine left the room after trying to get her to talk.

* * *

><p>Nick, Warrick, and Catherine met at the morgue for the autopsy. Doc. Robbins greeted them a little too happy to be preforming an autopsy. "Hey, guys I was just about to cut into her, but I thought you ought to see this first."<p>

"Whaddya got for us, Doc?" Warrick asked.

"There were abrasions on her wrists, she was obviously held down. I found cuts and bruises on her legs, arms, face, and stomach. Some more recent than others. But that wasn't the only thing. I took x-rays, and she has a fracture in her right arm, and multiple partially healed fractures in her ribs, legs, and arms. None of them are consistent with the stab wounds."

"Someone was beatin the crap outta her." Nick stated.

Catherine looked up, "Her husband." They all looked at her, amazed she was jumping to conclusions. "Laicey told me." Catherine looked back down, she couldn't let them see how much this case was getting to her. She couldn't help but to make notes of all the similarities between this case, and her situation.

"You alright Cath?" Warrick asked.

"Yeah. I'm good." She lied. Then she looked at the time, her shift ended ten minutes ago. "I have to go guys, our shift ended ten minutes ago. I need to get home. You guys good here?"

"Yeah. Lemme give you a lift." Nick offered.

"No, it's okay, I really need to get going." Catherine said, and hurried out the door. Nick followed, he knew something wasn't right.

Catherine was in the locker room when, she noticed Nick had followed her. She didn't want to talk to him.

"Cath, what's going on? And don't you tell me nothing." Nick had been paying attention to her recently, and noticed she always panicked every time she spent even one extra minute at work.

"It's really nothing, Nick. I have to go. I have to pick Lindsey up from school." She always used that as her excuse even when Lindsey took the bus home on most days. She ran out of the lab knowing what Simon would do when she arrived home late.

Catherine drove to her house already shaking as she prepared herself to face Simon... again.

* * *

><p><strong>I hope you liked it! Please let me know if you would like me to continue.<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Here is the second chapter! I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Catherine opened the door to her house, and Simon was sitting on the couch once again. It seemed like it was a cycle that continued on forever, always ending the same at the end of each day.<p>

"Why are you late this time?" Simon said without looking at her.

"The traffic was crazy."

Simon half believed her this time. She wasn't _that_ late, and she seemed calm. "How was your day at work?"

"It was good." She was relieved he didn't seem mad, but she knew she had to say the right thing in order to keep him from becoming angry.

Simon could sense nervousness in her voice. "What are you hiding?"

"Nothing, I was just thinking I had a good day at work... and I thought maybe we could have a good night too. If you know what I mean." Catherine said getting close to him. This was not what she wanted to do, but she knew she had to in order to avoid the beating.

"I do know what you mean." Simon got excited, and set his beer down as she sat on her lap, and started to unbutton her shirt. She leaned in and kissed him, and he took it from there. He always did it extremely rough, but she put up with it knowing it was better than the alternative.

At one point he was going so hard, she feared he would never stop, so she said between heavy breaths, "Stop... please... Simon stop."

To her amazement he did. He wasn't very happy though. "What's the problem?"

"Nothing, sorry." She felt better knowing she had _some_ control, and they continued far into the day.

She woke up with him right next to her, and she could hear Lindsey arrive home from school.

* * *

><p>Catherine arrived at work that night. The rest of her team had pulled a lot of overtime working the case. They had a team meeting to review what they had found, and to fill Catherine in. Catherine then got a call, in the middle of them talking to her, and she walked out of the room. It was from her daughter Lindsey. "Hey, Lindsey."<p>

"Hey, um Mom. Simon wants to take me somewhere tomorrow while you're at work. I don't know where, but he said we needed some time to know each other. It's true, we don't know each other at all, and I only think it's fair, you know he is my dad."

Catherine cringed as those words came from her daughter's mouth referring to Simon. "I don't know honey, don't you have homework?"

"I can get it done, it's not like I have that much. Please, can I go?"

"Lindsey, can we talk about this later? I'm at work."

"I don't even know why I asked you, he's my dad. I can go with him whenever I want to."

"No, Lindsey-"

"-Bye. Oh, and Simon says he can't wait to see you, and hopes you come home on time." Lindsey said, then the call was ended.

Catherine stood there for a moment to let it all sink in. _How is this happening? How can he just steal my daughter like that? She can't go with him, he'll hurt her. But how can I stop it without getting Simon mad at me? Or would it be worth it if he did get mad, as long as I can keep Lindsey safe. _

"Catherine. Catherine." Her thoughts were interrupted by Nick calling her name.

"What? Sorry."

"I was talkin to you, and you just walked out."

"Sorry, Lindsey called, I had to answer it."

"Is everything alright?"

"Yeah." Catherine lied. Then they walked back in and met up with Warrick back in the layout room.

"The COD was the stab wounds to her back. One of them punctured a major artery, and she bled out almost immediately after it was punctured. Leaving... the TOD around ten o'clock last night." Warrick explained.

Grissom was walking by the layout room, then something caught his eye, and he backed up, and entered the room. He pointed to the picture of the victim, "is that Angela Peters?"

"Yeah, why? How do you know?" Nick asked.

"She is a suspect in the case I'm working with Sara, Greg, and Sophia."

"What is she suspected of?"

"Murder, do you know where her husband is? We think they were a team."

Catherine felt the need to defend this woman. "I don't think Angela Peters was involved. If she was, I think her husband forced her to be. Doc Robbins said there were signs of long-term abuse, and Laicey told me it was the husband. I think she is a victim, not a murderer." It felt weird to call this woman a victim after she had been thinking how similar this woman was to herself.

"Do you have evidence to back that up?"

"No, but does it matter now? She's dead, we can't convict her of anything."

Everyone was taken aback by her statement. "Catherine, where is this coming from?" Grissom asked.

"Nowhere, I just... that's my opinion if you want it."

"I'm not interested in opinions, I only want the evidence that will help lead us to the truth."

"Sorry, Boss." Catherine said, and then Grissom left to get the rest of the team. He soon reentered with Sara, Greg, and Sophia following. Nick caught everyone up in the Angela Peters case, and Sara explained the case they were working. After looking over the evidence, it was clear they were looking for the same man, but they still had to find the evidence to prove it. Nick and Warrick had looked for any family of Angela Peters, but they found none. Her parents, who were both only children, had both died in a car accident when Angela was only six, and her older brother who was twelve at the time, had died ten years later of a drug overdose. Her grandparents raised her and her brother, but they died shortly after she moved out. She didn't work, so they didn't know of anyone else who could ID her body... except for Laicey. Catherine hated that she had to be the one to tell Laicey, and explain to her that her mom had died.

* * *

><p>They worked the case the entire shift, but they had found nothing useful. They had a few leads left, but they left them for tomorrow. Catherine headed to her locker just before her shift had ended. She was determined to get home on time. She was just about to leave when Grissom stopped her. "Where are you going?"<p>

"Home, shift's up."

"Think again, you need to talk to Laicey. Don't you?"

"Yeah, can I do that later? I really need to get home."

"You can do that now."

"Please, can I just have a few hours to go home?"

"Quit whining, and get your job done. I expect more of you, Catherine."

"Sorry Grissom, I'll do whatever I can to make it up to you."

"Make it up to me? Just get your job done." Grissom said and walked out.

Catherine kicked herself for saying that to Grissom. She was used to Simon demanding that she promise to make it up to him, so it just came out naturally.

* * *

><p>Catherine sat in her car, and called Simon. "Hey. I have to pull some overtime... I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you when I get home... I don't know... I don't know... I'm sorry, I can't do anything about it... yes, I'll do whatever you want when I get home. Promise." She said, then hung up the phone, and called Lindsey.<p>

"Hey Linds, yeah I was thinking. I don't want you to go with Simon tomorrow."

"You mean Dad? Mom, he is my DAD, and if you don't want me to be around him, you shouldn't have married him. I don't know about you, but I like dad, and I want to spend time with him."

"Just, please, go to a busy restaurant, or something."

"Mom, don't worry about me." Lindsey said, and hung up.

* * *

><p>A lady from Child Protection Services had picked up Laicey from the hospital earlier that day. Catherine went to visit her at her new location, and she brought her back to the lab. They were standing opposite of the widow to the morgue, once she knocked on the glass, the blinds would open, and the body of the girl's mother would be lying on the other side. She knew this would be one of the hardest conversations she would ever have in her life. <em>How do you explain the death of a mother to a six-year-old, whose mother is all she has? <em>Catherine swallowed a huge lump in her throat before speaking to the young child. "Laicey." She said softly. Laicey didn't respond. Catherine felt even worse now for what she was going to have to put her through. "Laicey, I need you to be strong for me right now, okay?"

Laicey nodded.

"Laicey, they're going to open the blinds, and I need you to tell me if you see anyone you know on the other side, okay?"

Laicey nodded, and Catherine knocked on the glass. The blinds came up, and Laicey saw her mom immediately. Her eyes lit up, she thought her mom was just sleeping. "Mommy! That's my mommy!"

Catherine's heart broke for Laicey, she had no clue her mom was dead. Laicey ran to the conjoining door, and opened it. Catherine chased her, but she was too slow. Laicey burst through the door, and ran to her mom. She hugged her mom as tight as she could, but she could tell something was wrong. "Mommy? Mommy, wake up! Mommy! I love you!" Laicey said holding her mom's hand as Catherine pulled her away.

Catherine sat her down in the lab, and Laicey was still crying. "Why was my mommy so hard, and cold? She had a blanket on."

"Laicey," Catherine tried to choke back the tears, but they fell anyway. "Your mommy is sleeping, and she's not going to wake up, honey."

"B-but she has to."

"No, I'm sorry, she's not going to." Catherine said, the tears were now streaming down her face.

Laicey fell on Catherine's shoulder crying, and Catherine cried with her. "I want my mommy, I can't live with Daddy!"

"Don't worry, I'm not gonna make you live with him." Catherine told her over and over every time Laicey repeated herself.

Catherine spent the rest of her day with the girl, and headed back to the lab just before her shift started. She wanted to make it back home before Lindsey left with Simon. The last thing she wanted to do after her day with Laicey was face Simon. She was extremely tired, and wanted to fall asleep in peace for once. She was sure, but not certain he wouldn't hurt her when Lindsey was in the house. But she was willing to find out in order to save her daughter.

* * *

><p>She drove home, and Simon was there with Lindsey, they were getting ready to leave. She walked into the house, and prepared herself for the worst. "Lindsey, you're not going."<p>

"Mom! What are you talking about?"

"I'm not letting you go."

Simon interrupted, "You don't come home all day, and now you think you can come in and run everything? No, I'm the boss around here. Lindsey, get in the car."

"No, don't." Catherine knew she would get it from him, if Lindsey was out of the house. Simon grabbed Catherine by the arm forcefully.

"She does what I say, okay? Do you want her to see, or not?"

"Go ahead Lindsey." She said to Lindsey who was standing still as she watched the two interact. Then leaving to the car after given the permission from her mom.

Catherine knew it would be ugly now that Lindsey was out of the house. She decided she would have to make the first move if she would have a chance to save Lindsey, he would just drive away with her if she let him leaving Catherine unharmed, but Catherine wouldn't allow that. She picked up a nearby lamp, and hit him over the head with it as he was walking out. He fell to the ground, and before she could react to anything, he turned around, and his eyes looked like the devil. There was undeniable evil, and she was going to get it. She had never seen him this mad before. Simon picked up a piece of the broken lamp, and came at Catherine. This was the first time she truly feared for her life. She tried to stop him, but he managed to cut her arm. She drew back, and he dropped the piece of the lamp. Catherine held her arm, and backed up until her back hit the wall. She was in tears, and he came toward her. "Stop, please, I'll do anything. Anything, just please. I'm sorry."

He kicked her knee, and grabbed her by the hair, and threw her head into the coffee table. "You don't tell me what to do!" Blood was rushing from Catherine's forehead. Simon kicked her already bruised stomach, and Catherine let out a moan of pain. "You promised you would do anything!" She was lying on the floor crying, she couldn't move. She thought this was the end. There was no way he would calm down anytime soon.

Then, Lindsey came in the front door.

* * *

><p><strong>No matter if you liked it or not, I want to know! Please review!<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**Here's the third chapter! Thanks for the great reviews, they made my day! I don't own any of the CSI characters, but I own all the others.**** Malfoystinksstinks, I hope this will answer your question.**

* * *

><p>Yes, Catherine could've pulled her gun, and it could've all been over, all of it. But she didn't want to kill him, and it had all happened so fast, and she didn't want Lindsey to hear the shot, or see his body. If she shot him, she would have to explain what Simon had done to her, to everyone, and say it over and over, and she wasn't ready to do that yet.<p>

Lindsey stood still in the front door, unsure of what to do. Simon was standing over Catherine who was lying on the ground, bleeding and crying. She tried to pull herself together when Lindsey came in, and tried to get off the ground, but she couldn't find the strength. "Dad." Lindsey said worried. The panic in her voice was indisputable.

"Get back in the car." Simon demanded, hardly glancing over at Lindsey.

Lindsey stood still, she couldn't bring herself to leave her mom like that. Lindsey was almost certain she knew what was going on. "What did you do to mom?"

"Nothing. Nothing, I can't believe you would even think like that! She fell, and hit her head on the coffee table." Simon was irritated.

"Then, why aren't you helping her?" She was still doubtful of Simon.

"I was just about to. Don't worry, she'll be fine, just get back in the car."

Lindsey wasn't fully convinced, but it was enough. She shrugged it off, and walked to the car. Catherine wanted to beg for Lindsey to stay, to help her. But she couldn't speak, she tried, but only silence came from her mouth. Catherine and Simon were left in the house alone again. "I'm sorry honey. It wasn't supposed to happen like that." Simon said and leaned over and kissed Catherine on the forehead. He wiped the blood from his mouth, "I have to go, she needs me." Simon said, and left the house.

_No, this can't be happening. He can't leave with her. I have to stop him, but how? _Catherine couldn't move, she thought she would bleed out there in her own living room, and Lindsey would come home to find her cold body lying there in a pool of her own blood. _No. There has to be a way out. _She thought hard, but the more time she spent on the floor, the more unconsciousness called at her. She thought if she were to give in, unconsciousness would claim her, and she would never wake up. She didn't know how bad the head wound was, but she knew she needed help. Then Catherine reluctantly pulled her cell phone from her pocket, but couldn't call anyone, she couldn't do it. She soon passed out on her living room floor.

* * *

><p>Lindsey was out with Simon, they had been driving for an hour now. Lindsey stayed quiet in the passenger seat. She couldn't stop thinking about her mom, about how awful she looked when she had saw her on the floor, there was no way she slipped and hit her head on the table, she looked a lot worse than that. "Can we go back home?" Lindsey asked, she was concerned about her mom.<p>

"We haven't even got to spend any time together. Why would we go home now?"

"I don't know, this driving isn't much fun."

"Don't worry, we're almost there. Just a couple more minutes."

"Did you help mom up?"

"Is that why you want to go home!?" Simon was extremely angry with Lindsey. He had never really talked to her too much before, but today she was asking all the wrong questions. "Your mother is fine!"

* * *

><p>Catherine woke up in the same place she was when she passed out. Her hair and clothes were soaked with her own blood, and she sat up. <em>No. I have to get to Lindsey. Where is she? He better not hurt her. <em>Then she looked at the clock, she was going to be late for work. She got up as fast as she could giving her a pounding headache. She showered, and bandaged her arm underneath the long sleeves she wore. Then, tried to call Lindsey before heading to work, but her phone was turned off, so she tried Simon, but his was as well. Catherine headed off to work, hoping no one would say anything to her, but knew thinking that was illogical.

* * *

><p>Catherine arrived at work, and she saw Nick first. "Hey, what happen to your forehead?" He asked noticing the gash as soon as he saw her.<p>

She touched her hand to the gash. "Oh, I just slipped, and hit my head on the coffee table, it's nothing really."

"Okay." Nick believed her, why wouldn't he?

She continued to get asked the same question over and over by everyone throughout the day, and she gave everyone the same lie. She had said it so much, she was starting it believe it herself.

Catherine was sitting in the locker room, and tried calling Lindsey again, but still no answer. She was starting to get worried, but she couldn't tell the team. If she told them this, she would have to tell them everything. Besides, they hadn't been gone for that long, and Simon loved Lindsey. He wouldn't hurt her. _What if they decided to see a movie or something? They would have to turn their phones off then._ She pulled up her sleeve to reveal the hurting cut on her arm that she had bandaged herself. Then, Sophia walked into the room, she was already at her locker by the time Catherine noticed her, and pulled her sleeve down.

Sophia had seen it, she saw the bandaged arm, and the bruising around it. She saw the gash on Catherine's forehead, and it was obvious what was going on. She didn't say anything to Catherine, and was worried, but she didn't want to jump to any conclusions, and she decided she would pretend she didn't see anything.

They had made little progress on the case since she had last been at work. They brought in the suspect's ex-wife, to see if she knew anything, and Catherine and Sara went with Brass to talk to the ex.

"Hello Ms. Borne, thank you for coming in." Brass greeted her.

"What's this about?" Ms. Borne asked.

Sara explained to her what she needed to know, and the lady claimed she had no idea what they were talking about. Sara noticed Ms. Borne cringed at the mention of her ex's name.

"I don't know what you're talking about with this other woman, but I may know of a place he may run to if he were to be in serious trouble." She gave them the location of the place, and immediately Catherine, Sophia, Greg, and Warrick were headed out to the place with Brass.

* * *

><p>It was a small bar and grill about an hour and a half from Vegas. It was a small place, but crowded. Many people went there for the low drink prices, and many teenagers also went there. It was the one crazy bar they could get into without a fake ID, and still fell cool, and also get picked up by cute drunk guys.<p>

The CSIs entered the place. They looked at every person in the building, some more than once. Catherine saw from across the bar the backside of a blonde girl with an older man all the way across the restaurant. It looked just like Lindsey and Simon. _Could it be them?_ She watched as the man put his hand on the girl's shoulder and she jumped a little. _Gosh, it looks so much like them. But it can't be them. Lindsey has never flinched at Simon's touch, she likes her new d... Simon." _She couldn't even think about calling Simon Lindsey's new dad even if, Lindsey did call him Dad. She saw Sophia walk right in front of the two people, and look directly at them, then keep walking. _Sophia knows who Lindsey is, if it is them, she would say something._ Then Catherine's thoughts were interrupted by a guy sitting at the bar.

Sophia did a double-take on the two people in the booth. _She looks a lot like Catherine's daughter, but it couldn't be. She wouldn't be out with some strange older man. _When she looked for the second time, that was when Sophia noticed the girl's left eye was black and blue. _She looks so much like Lindsey, but I think I'm the only one who seems to think that. No one else has said anything, maybe because she doesn't really look like her, and my mind is playing tricks on me. I'll let somebody else discover it, if it really is her. Catherine would notice if it was her daughter. I'll just pretend I didn't see anything, and keep going. _

The team had looked at every single person in that bar and grill, but they didn't find who they were looking for, and headed back to the lab after a long day in the field.

They arrived back at the lab, just before the shift ended, and Catherine left as soon as she could, to get back home in time.

* * *

><p>Catherine arrived home finally on time, but neither Lindsey nor Simon were there, and it was a Saturday so, Lindsey wasn't supposed to be at school. She tried calling again, but Lindsey's phone was still turned off as was Simon's. Catherine was starting to worry A LOT. They had been out all night. She didn't even want to start to think of all the horrible things Simon could be doing to Lindsey right now. With all the time they had, it could not possibly result in anything good for Lindsey.<p>

Catherine thought maybe she could sleep voluntarily for once instead of being knocked unconscious. She laid in her bed, and tried to get some sleep, but she could not stop thinking about Lindsey. After laying in her bed for an hour, she got up, and walked into Lindsey's room. Catherine laid on Lindsey's bed, thinking of her daughter. Crying for hours in Lindsey's bed, then she finally started to give in to sleep when she was jarred awake from a sound from the front of the house. She jumped out of bed, and went quickly to the front of her house, not even thinking to grab her gun in case it was not who she expected.

The door slammed behind them when they entered the house. Simon and Lindsey entered the house, they were both really happy. Lindsey seemed like she had a good time with Simon, but Catherine didn't know that Simon had threatened her if she didn't seem happy. He told her, if she didn't act like they had a good time, he would hurt her mom.

It didn't take long for Catherine to notice Lindsey's left eye that was completely black and blue.

* * *

><p><strong>Please review! I want to know what you guys thought about that chapter. I know it was mostly about Lindsey... and Sophia... hehe:) <strong>**, but please let me know if you liked it or not.**


	4. Chapter 4

**So, I guess its Sofia and not Sophia, sorry. Haha I promise I've seen every episode, but it shows how much attention I paid to her. Sorry. Thank you to whoever told me! And thank you for all the reviews I love reading them! Anyway, here is the next chapter!**

* * *

><p>Simon walked back into the master bedroom, and Catherine followed him. "What the hell did you do to Lindsey?"<p>

"Nothing, it was another guy. He was drunk, and he thought Lindsey was his ex that had just dumped him. Don't worry, I took care of the other guy. I'm sorry I let that happen to Lindsey." Simon said, sounding sincere.

"It's not your fault." Catherine said. She didn't believe his story one bit.

"I'm really sorry." Simon said as he changed his clothes. "I have to go. I'll see you when I get back, don't do anything stupid." He said with a smile, then leaned in for a kiss and she kissed him back. He left the house in a hurry.

As soon as the door closed, Catherine went into Lindsey's room. Lindsey was laying on her bed with her phone in her hand wondering what to do. She wanted to call someone, she knew her dad wasn't supposed to hit her, and she knew he had also hit her mom before they left. She knew she should do something, but she just wanted to talk her mom. Her mom would know what to do, but Simon had threatened her mom if she found out.

"Lindsey." Catherine said from the door. "I brought you some ice."

"Thanks." Lindsey said sitting up in her bed.

"Will you let me take a look at it?" Catherine asked. Lindsey shrugged, and Catherine looked at her eye. It was swelling more and more by the minute. "You need to keep ice on it. Fifteen minute rotations."

Lindsey nodded, and took the ice, and slowly held it to her left eye.

"How did it happen?"

Lindsey tried to remember and repeat the story Simon gave her. "We were at like this bar place. The guy sitting next to me, he punched me. He did it because, he thought he just broke up with me, and he was drunk."

Catherine knew her daughter well enough to know she was lying. "Tell me what really happen."

Tears started to fall from Lindsey's eyes, and she tried to hide them. "I can't. That is what happen."

"No, that's what Simon told you to say. I know Lindsey, I've been there. Please, tell me what happen." Catherine begged. Lindsey shook her head. Catherine knew it was Simon who gave her the black eye, but she wanted more than that. She wanted the story behind it, she wanted to know if he hurt her anywhere else. "Please, talk to me." Catherine knew Lindsey wasn't going to talk so, she slowly unzipped the black jacket she had put on with a tank top before she tried to go to bed earlier. She slipped it off her shoulders, left with only a tank top, and her arms that were covered in bruises, and the bandage, it was all visible to her daughter. The tears streamed down her face as she revealed her shame to Lindsey. "Lindsey, if you don't tell me, he will do this to you too. I can't protect you, if you don't say anything." This was the hardest thing she ever had to do.

Lindsey fell in her mother's arms sobbing. "I can't tell you, he'll hurt you. I'm sorry."

"Lindsey, honey. Can't you see? He's already hurt me. If you don't tell me what happen, he'll hurt you too. Please, I won't tell him you told me. Did he hit you right before you came home?"

Lindsey sat back, and shook her head. "It was when we got to the bar and grill place we went to. I made him really mad in the car, it was my fault. I kept asking about you, I was worried. It was supposed to be our special night out, and all I wanted to do was go home. I'd be angry too if I were him."

"Lindsey, it's my fault, not yours. Okay? I made him mad before he even left. I'm so sorry."

"No, it was mine. As soon as we got out of the car, I asked him how long we were going to stay. He punched me and said 'we're going to have a good night tonight damn it. Quit asking to go home. Your mom is fine, quit talking about her.' Then I did what he told me to, and he was fine for the rest of the night."

"Was there anybody around? Did someone see?"

"No, there weren't any street lights or anything where he parked. What's gonna happen to you, now that I told you?"

"Nothing, Lindsey, it's gonna be okay. I'll protect you."

"But what about you? Shouldn't you tell somebody? Like at work?"

"I will figure that out. Simon, he has a lot of people on his side. He has lots of connections."

"Can _I_ tell anybody?"

"No, he is a dangerous man, and even if he goes to jail... he knows people. What you need to do right now, is do what he says, and if you're ever alone with him, leave. Call someone on the phone, not me, someone who will help you, if they hear him. Someone who he wouldn't want them to find out. It's gonna be okay. You can probably take the ice off now, I think it's been fifteen minutes." Lindsey took the ice off, but it still looked really bad. Catherine took the ice pack back to the kitchen, then rejoined Lindsey back in her room, and put the jacket back on.

"What am I supposed to tell people when they ask?"

"Tell them what Simon told you to say."

"But _you_ didn't believe me."

"I know you, and I know him... and I'm a CSI. Don't worry about it, I'll get this under control."

"Is he gonna hit you again?" Lindsey was worried.

"I don't know. Probably, but I'll live."

Lindsey fell in her lap again crying, and Catherine held her. She felt guilty for getting them in that situation with, what seemed like, no escape route. _If only I would have stayed home that night, or went to a different bar. _Catherine thought to herself. She blamed herself for everything.

Catherine and Lindsey sat and talked for hours, stopping every fifteen minutes to get ice for Lindsey's eye. It was finally time for Catherine to leave for work. "Try to get some sleep."

"What if he comes home, and I don't hear him?"

"You will, but in case you don't, just do what he says. Don't try to fight him."

"Okay. I'm scared."

"Don't worry, just relax, and remember what I told you to do." Catherine left Lindsey alone in the house, waiting for Simon to come home. There was no way she would get any sleep for the second night in a row.

* * *

><p>Catherine arrived at work, leaving her mind still with Lindsey at the house. She was wearing the tank top with the jacket that she kept zipped up. Halfway through the shift, Sara came up to her, "Cath, why you wearing a jacket? It's like ninety degrees outside."<p>

_Because my husband, which you don't know about, left bruises on my arms when he beat me. _Catherine thought, but instead she said,"I haven't been felling very well, I've been feeling kind of cold recently."

"Are you sure that's really why?"

_No, but if I tell you he might kill me. _"Yeah." Catherine said. She so badly wanted to tell Sara.

"Okay, just know I'm here, if you ever want to tell me the truth."

_How do you know? _"That is the truth."

"Okay." Sara said, and then ran to Grissom's office to tell him.

Sara waited for everyone else to leave, and she closed the door before talking to Grissom. "Grissom. I think someone's been hurting Catherine."

"Woah, Sara. Where is this coming from?"

"She's wearing a jacket today. The big gash on her forehead... and she panics every time she's even a minute late getting off work."

"She about lost it when I made her work a double... the next day she had the gash." Grissom realized. "Okay, this stays between us, just in case we're wrong. But you need to talk to Catherine, see if she'll talk to you. I will too."

"Oh, and another thing. Lindsey has called me like three times tonight, just wanting to talk."

"Tell Catherine."

* * *

><p>Sara approached Catherine a little after talking to Grissom, but her phone went off again, it was Lindsey. "Hey."<p>

"_Sara. Hey. How's it going at work?_"

"I haven't got much done since, you keep calling me."

"_Oh, sorry, I just..._"

"What Lindsey? Why do you keep calling me? Aren't you supposed to be asleep?"

"_I can't sleep. My mom said I couldn't call her at work... unless it's an emergency._"

"Why can't you sleep?"

"_I just can't._"

"Lindsey, tell me what's going on. Lindsey?" The phone went dead. Sara went, and talked to Catherine. "Cath! I just got four calls from your daughter, do you want to tell me why?"

"She called you?" Catherine knew what this meant. She was home alone with Simon.

"Yeah, this last time, she just hung up on me when we were in the middle of talking."

"What?" Catherine said, then pulled out her phone, and was relieved when Lindsey answered quickly. "Hey, Linds, everything okay?" She asked, stepping away from Sara.

"_He's here, he's drinking. He's gonna hurt me._"

Catherine could sense the panic in her voice. "Just, don't go out there. Don't let him hear you."

"_Will you be home soon?_"

"I can try."

"_Hurry. Please._"

"I will. Bye." Catherine hung up the phone, and Sara was still there.

"Catherine, I know what's going on. Can you tell me so I can help you?"

"No. You don't know, and don't pretend like you do." Catherine left, and headed to Grissom's office.

"Catherine, come, take a seat." Grissom needed to talk to her.

"No thanks. I need to cut out early today." She was in a hurry.

"May I ask why?"

"Personal reasons. Family stuff."

"Is Lindsey okay?"

"Grissom, please."

"If you tell me what your reasons are, I'll let you go."

"Lindsey called, I don't know what it's about. Please let me go."

"Alright. Go." He couldn't say no to that response. It was believable, Lindsey _had_ been calling Sara all night. It _was_ possible she was in trouble.

"Thank you." Catherine said, and ran out of the lab.

* * *

><p>Catherine arrived home really early that night. Simon was not too happy with that. "Whatare youdoing? You're supposed tobeatwork." His speech was incredibly slurred, it was hard to make out some of it.<p>

"We closed a case, we all got off early."

"Huh, okay." Simon was beyond drunk, it was a miracle he wasn't passed out. He walked to Lindsey's room, and opened the door, Catherine was right behind him. "Aren'tyou supposed tobeata sleepover?"

Lindsey was on the phone with Sara, "Yeah, you know, I've always wanted to be able to fly. I could look down at everybody, and-"

"-Getoffthephone!"

"Huh?" Lindsey couldn't really understand him.

"Linds, get off the phone." Catherine instructed her daughter.

"Sara, I have to go. Bye." Lindsey said and hung up the phone.

Catherine closed her eyes. Sara had to of heard Simon.

"Gotoyour friend'shouselike youdoevery Sunday. Get out of here!" Simon yelled perfectly clear.

"Simon, don't yell at her." Catherine said calmly.

"I'msorry." Simon said, and then Lindsey walked past them, but Simon grabbed her arm just before she got away.

"Simon, let go of her!" Catherine yelled trying to free Lindsey's arm. Simon let go. "Lindsey, get away from here."

Lindsey did as her mom told her to, but she had no place to go. It was the middle of the night. She sat down beside the side of the house listening for sounds from inside.

* * *

><p><strong>Please review, I want to know if you liked it or not. I love reading the reviews so, please review!<strong>


	5. Chapter 5

**Marie, first I want to thank you for taking the time to read and review my story. I do not believe any that you mentioned were out of character. I don't know how much you know about abusive relationships, but they change people. Most people do not speak out until years later, if at all. This is a situation they've never been in, and it causes them to do things they've never done. That's my opinion. Thanks for reading, I hope you like this next chapter better!**

**Here is the next chapter I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

><p>At the lab, Sara ended the call with Lindsey, and immediately went to Grissom's office. "I got another call from Lindsey. I heard a man yelling, and a woman that sounded like Catherine talking. I couldn't make out what they were saying."<p>

"Okay, let's go to her house."

"Alone?"

"Yes alone. If we take too much time for everyone to set up, it could be too late, or he could arm himself, and hold them captive. We don't know what we're dealing with here. But I know if it's five against one, once you count in the element of surprise, the odds will be in our favor."

"You're right. Let's go."

Sara and Grissom took off to Catherine's house.

* * *

><p>Simon turned his attention to Catherine after Lindsey left the house. "Yousaidyou woulddo anything forme. Right?" Simon remembered everything she hadn't paid for yet. Pulling a double, hitting him with the lamp, (What he did that night he called self-defense) and the way she thought she could control him tonight. He grabbed her by the arms as tight as he could. "Who do you think you are!?" He yelled in her face as he shook her.<p>

The words were perfectly clear and understandable to Catherine. When he yelled in her face, she wished she could get drunk from smelling alcohol.

"Huh? You can't control me! You bitch!" He said, and slapped her. He had remarkable strength for being as drunk as he was.

Catherine tried to restrain herself from fighting back, she wanted to, for Lindsey. But she knew it would only end worse if she tried. She tried to silence the cries as he hit her many more times, until her feet finally gave out.

* * *

><p>Lindsey sat outside in the dark, warm, night felling colder than ever. She leaned her head against the wall to the house, and she could hear her mother's cries loud and clear. She cried thinking there wasn't anything anyone could do to help. Lindsey finally gave into exhaustion, and fell asleep to the sound of Catherine's screams, and her own sobs.<p>

.

* * *

><p>Sara and Grissom arrived at Catherine's house, but it looked empty. They knocked, and entered quickly, and searched the entire house with their guns drawn, but it was empty. There was a lot of dust all around, and all her and Lindsey's clothes were gone. It was obvious she hadn't lived there for a while, but she never bothered to change her address at work.<p>

They didn't know about Simon, and they had no idea she had moved in with him a little over two months ago.

Grissom called Catherine, but got no answer. He was somewhat relieved when he got a text from her. It said, _this better be good, you woke me up._

* * *

><p>Simon grabbed Catherine, and pulled her to her feet. "You ever think about running away, remember all my friends. They outnumber yours." It wasn't true, Simon only had a few friends, but they knew a lot of people, and he hoped they all had his back. If they did, they had about the same amount of friends.<p>

Catherine's phone rang, and Simon dropped her, and picked up her phone. "Oh hey, it's Grissom. You probably don't want to talk to him. I'll send him a quick text."

Catherine sat on the floor, propped up against the wall, grateful for the break, but preparing herself for the worst. Simon quickly returned to her, and held her head in his hand. Then he pulled his hand away, and smacked her across the face. He started kicking her smashing her back into the wall behind her. He was enraged, and it showed on his face. There would be nothing to stop him tonight.

Catherine screamed until she passed out. This time, Simon didn't stop when she passed out, and she may never know what happened after she lost consciousness.

* * *

><p>Catherine woke up in the middle of the living room. She was dizzy, and her stomach was killing her. She could feel new bruises forming on her arms, and her legs hurt so bad she didn't know if she could walk. She managed to sit up slowly, but the room wouldn't stop spinning, then she felt a hand on her back helping her to sit. Catherine looked over, and saw Lindsey there. "Lindsey." Her eyes filled with tears.<p>

"I waited for him to leave, and I came in. He just left about two minutes ago."

Catherine thought about how weak she must look, but how much she had wished Lindsey was there the last time to help her. She took her daughter's hand and slowly stood up. The room was spinning, and Catherine thought she might pass out again. Lindsey stood next to her waiting to see if her mom needed more help. "Mom, do you need help? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine honey, I just need to sit for a little before I get in the shower." Catherine walked to the couch, and Lindsey got her some ice for her head, and prepared the bathroom for her mom setting a towel on the sink, and her work clothes next to it. Lindsey came back and joined Catherine on the couch. "Lindsey, thank you, but you don't have to take care of me."

"I know, I wanted to." Lindsey said, she blamed herself for Simon's actions, and wanted to try to make it up to her mom.

Catherine ran for the bathroom ignoring all the pain from her injuries, and made it to the toilet in time before she emptied her stomach into the bowl. Catherine was on her knees, sweating, grasping onto the toilet bowl, knowing it was not over. Then, she felt her hair lift from the back of her neck, and out of her face. She knew Lindsey must've been holding her hair, and she vomited again. She tried not to cough after, the action hurt her ribs terribly as it was. She was sure they were at _least_ very deeply bruised, but it was probably something more. She threw up one more time before she felt better. Catherine sat down on the bathroom floor.

"Are you okay?" Lindsey asked.

"Yeah, I need to shower." Catherine answered.

* * *

><p>Catherine arrived at work a little late, but she managed to cover up the bruises on her face, but not the gash. Sara and Grissom were planning on sitting down and talking to Catherine once she got there, but a call came in, and they being the only two on time for work, had to take it.<p>

Grissom and Sara were out in the field when she got there and a call came in. Catherine took Nick and Warrick with her to the crime scene. It had to be one of the worst smelling crime scenes in a while. There was a dead body decomposing in the underground sewer area. They had to hike through the tunnel to get to the body. It had smelt so bad, someone walking by noticed, and knew the smell wasn't the normal smell for a sewer. All three of them walked to find the body, every so often there would be drops from the top of the tunnel, and Catherine would hide her face, fearing her makeup would come off.

They finally reached the decomposing body, and Catherine was almost certain she was going to be sick again, but she never was.

They spent minimal time at the crime scene, working as fast and efficient as possible. They finished up at the crime scene with remarkable speed.

* * *

><p>The smell was intolerable, and it was all soaked in their skin, their hair. They smelled horrific. They all three went to take a shower as soon as they got back, Catherine had drove herself to the crime scene, and so she drove herself home to get a change of clothes first. She only had tank tops in her locker at work. She was very careful to take another change of clothes in the restrooms with her. She was thankful she was the only female on the case, or there would be others in the restroom, but there wasn't. Catherine took a nice long shower, and changed into her clothes. Then she realized her jacket was gone, she must've left it back in the locker room. Then, she realized she left in on the bench in front of her locker. She waited until she was certain no one was around, then went into the locker room.<p>

Her jacket wasn't on the bench like she thought. She looked in her locker, but it wasn't there either she looked all around, and finally found it on the ground. She threw it on quickly, but when she turned around, she saw Warrick sitting next to her watching her panic. He had saw all the bruises on her arms and face. "Catherine..." Warrick said softly.

Catherine couldn't look at him.

"Tell me what's going on."

Catherine wanted to tell him so bad, she wanted to tell someone since the first night he hit her, but she feared what would happen if she did. She wanted to tell him, but could she? Did she even have the strength?

.

* * *

><p><strong>Please let me know if you liked it! I want to hear what you think!<strong>


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay, here is the next chapter!**

* * *

><p>"Tell me what's going on." Warrick said.<p>

Catherine stared at the ground. She thought of Lindsey, and she thought of Simon, and how he warned her. She thought of what he would do to her today, and she didn't know how she would hold up if he pushed her even once, because of how awful she felt today, and how she was barely able to bring herself on her feet. She looked Warrick in the eye, and she broke. Catherine started sobbing, and Warrick hugged her gently, being cautious of all the bruises.

"What's going on, Cath?" He asked when she started to calm down.

"I'm married. This guy, Simon. I met him at a bar, we got drunk. I knew it wouldn't last, and so I didn't want to tell anyone."

"Is he the one who gave you all the bruises?" Warrick asked softly.

"I set him off. When he gets drunk, I know better than to do anything to upset him."

"Catherine, you don't deserve to be treated like this. Nobody does, you know that."

"He has connections. Okay. And I need to get home."

"No. You know I can't let you go back to him."

"Warrick, I know you want to help, but I have to go. He has a lot of connections, you would never be able to get him. Please, just let me go home." Catherine said, and grabbed her bag, and left the lab.

Warrick was still sitting in the locker room when Nick entered. He could tell something was bothering Warrick. "Hey man, what's on your mind?"

"It's bad man." He said with his head down.

"What?" Nick was confused.

"Catherine. I know we all knew something was up in the back of our minds, but we never accepted it. We all just ignored it."

"I mean, I know she's been actin weird lately, but what is goin on? I'm not followin." Nick said, confused.

"I saw the bruises man, he's beating the hell outta her. And she won't let me help her, she says she doesn't need it."

"Well you know Catherine, she thinks she's superwoman. Where is she? Did you tell Grissom?"

"She just went back to her house. I was about to talk to Grissom, you wanna come?"

* * *

><p>Catherine got into her car, she was running late. Her phone rang, and she checked to see who it was before she answered. She didn't recognize the number and she answered it. "Willows."<p>

"_Hello. This is Suzi Engles. You are Catherine Willows, the parent of Lindsey Willows. Is that correct?"_

"Yes. Is she okay?" Her heart started racing.

"_Are you aware of her black eye? She said a man hit her."_

"Yes. I know what happen, it was a drunk guy at a restaurant."

"_Lindsey said it was a bar."_

"Same thing. Look, I really have to go. I have someone waiting for me."

"_Ms. Willows, I think your daughter is being abused, but she's scared to tell us who."_

"Who are you to make that call? Leave my daughter alone, and I'll look into it." Catherine hung up the phone frustrated. She and Suzi knew each other fairly well, and she knew Catherine would never hurt Lindsey, and she knew Lindsey didn't have the easiest life so, she was always really protective over Lindsey while she was at school.

Catherine rushed home, only to be met with Simon once again, drunk.

* * *

><p>Warrick and Nick joined Sara in Grissom's office. They had just got back from the crime scene, and Grissom took a seat in his chair. "Hey, have either of you seen Catherine?"<p>

Nick and Warrick exchanged glances. "Yeah, she just left." Warrick said. "That's actually why we're in here."

"What's going on guys?" Grissom asked.

Warrick explained what he had seen. "There was hardly an inch of unbruised skin. Her face, her arms. She looked horrible."

Grissom explained to them that he and Sara had tried to go to her house, but it was empty. Warrick explained she had gotten married, and probably moved in with him. "Simon, I think she said his name was."

Sara had an idea, "Maybe I could call Lindsey, I bet she knows where they're living."

* * *

><p>"Why are you late?" Simon asked.<p>

Catherine ignored him. She knew he would become irate with her doing this, but she didn't want to talk to him at all.

"I asked you a question! You answer me when I'm talking to you!" Simon said standing up. "Do you understand!?"

"Yeah." Catherine barely whispered, not even looking at Simon.

He grabbed her face, and forced her to look at him. "What do you say!?"

"I-I'm sorry. I'll do anything to make it up to you." Catherine cried.

"Yes you will." He said, and slapped her, hard.

Catherine could already feel her feet giving out, and her head spinning. She was in no way prepared for what he was going to do. She thought this was the end. One good hit, and she would be out, and she knew he wouldn't stop after only hitting her twice.

He grabbed her and threw her against the wall. She fell against the wall, and laid on the ground barely conscious. He was yelling at her, but she couldn't hear him, as unconsciousness pulled her in. She took a kick to the head before she finally blacked out.

Simon was on a roll. He couldn't stop. He kicked her a few more times in the stomach, and then he heard sirens. He ran for the back door.

* * *

><p>Sara and Nick went to talk to Lindsey at her school since, she wouldn't pick up her phone. They pulled her out of school. Lindsey was terrified. "What's going on? Is my mom okay?"<p>

They saw her black eye, and were in disbelief. "Lindsey, where did you get that black eye? Did Simon give it to you?" Sara asked.

Lindsey figured her mom told everyone, and she nodded. "That's why I kept calling you, so he wouldn't do it again." She said to Sara.

Their hearts dropped to their stomach. "Can you take us to where Simon and your mom are?" Nick asked. Lindsey nodded, and got in the car with them. She led them to Simon's house, and they instructed Lindsey to stay in the car while they entered the house.

They had brought two uniform cops and Brass with them who knocked down the door, and led the way in. The two cops chased Simon as he tried to run. Brass cleared the house, and Sara ran to Catherine. "Catherine." She said, and she checked for a pulse when Catherine didn't respond. She had one, and she was also breathing. "Call the paramedics!"

Lindsey was waiting out in the car, and then she saw Simon, and ran into the house. She saw her mom lying on the floor unconscious, and bleeding. "Mom!" She yelled, and tried to run over to her, but Nick held her back.

"Lindsey, you shouldn't be in here. Go back in the car."

"Why shouldn't I be in here? Are you trying to protect me!? Well guess who got her off the floor yesterday when she could barely sit up, who held her hair while she was throwing up, who cleaned her blood off the floor when she left for work! Just let me see my mom!" Lindsey yelled in tears.

Nick couldn't argue with her anymore, and let Lindsey through. She knelt down by her mom and Sara. "Mom. Mom, wake up. You have to wake up, we're finally safe." Lindsey sobbed.

The paramedics arrived, and Lindsey and Sara moved out of their way. They worked fast, and efficiently getting Catherine out as quickly as possible. They wheeled her to the ambulance, and Nick and Warrick rode with her, and Sara stayed with Lindsey, following them to the hospital. Grissom called Greg and Sofia to process the scene.

.

* * *

><p>Nick, Warrick, Sara, and Lindsey sat in the waiting room. Lindsey curled herself in a little ball in one of the chairs, and cried. They all sat nervously as they waited for the nurse.<p>

Finally, the nurse came out, and told them Catherine would be okay, and she was awake, but only immediate family was allowed. Lindsey stood up, and followed the nurse to her mother's room. "Hey Lindsey." Catherine said as soon as she saw her daughter, but she could barely speak.

Lindsey tried to hold back the tears, but they fell anyway. "Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine." She tried to sound comforting, but she didn't sound good. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"No. I'm fine. Will this all be over now?"

"I don't know Linds. I hope so."

"Why did you tell everybody at work, if you're not sure if it will be over?"

"What? Lindsey?" Catherine said, panicked. "Are they here?"

Lindsey nodded. "They pulled me out if school, and asked me if Simon gave me the black eye, and then they asked me to show them to our house."

"Did you tell them anything?"

"Just that Simon gave me the black eye. They're out in the waiting room, and they want to talk to you."

* * *

><p>Warrick was in the waiting room, on his phone. "How the hell could you let this happen!? Find him!" He yelled, then threw his phone against the wall. Everyone stared at him.<p>

"Woah, Warrick. What's goin on?" Nick asked as he stood, and walked over by Warrick who was pacing the waiting room.

"Patrol lost track of Simon, they don't know where he went."

Nick and Sara froze for a moment, as they took in the news. Then, Lindsey came out into the waiting room.

"Hey, how's she doing?" Sara asked Lindsey.

"She's okay. You can go in there." Lindsey said, and took a seat in one of the chairs.

Sara walked back, and Nick told Warrick, "You should go see here. I'll stay here with Lindsey." Then, Warrick followed Sara into Catherine's room.

When they entered, all the bruises on her face, neck, and chest were visible to them. There were more than there was the last time Warrick saw her, and Sara couldn't believe she never noticed any bruises before. "Did ya get him?" Was the first thing Catherine asked.

"We will." Sara said.

Catherine looked down. "Just keep Lindsey safe."

"You are both safe now." Sara said.

Catherine didn't believe her, but she nodded. She was too exhausted to put up a fight. Then, the nurse walked into the room, and Catherine asked her, "When can I go home?"

"Soon. We would like to keep you overnight, but if all goes well, you should be able to leave tomorrow. You have multiple fractured ribs, a concussion-"

"-I know what he did, I don't need to hear it. Thank you." She said mostly to protect Sara and Warrick from having to hear everything.

Nick and Lindsey snuck into the room when the people at the desk weren't watching. There were only supposed to be two visitors in the room at a time, but the nurses wouldn't care once they got in. The four of them talked for a few minutes, then Nick took the first watch as Warrick and Sara left. Lindsey sat at her mother's bedside as Catherine slept for minutes at a time. Catherine would be relieved every time she woke up and saw Lindsey sitting next to her.

Late in the day, Grissom and Greg came by the hospital. They talked with Catherine and Lindsey for a while updating them on the case. They still didn't know where Simon was. They had all roads leading out of the state blocked off, and they hoped to find him soon.

Grissom stayed with Catherine until, their shift started, then Warrick came. He sat outside her room for the night. Catherine sat in the bed, desperate to get out of there. She looked over at her daughter who was drifting off in the chair next to her. She started feeling a hot liquid creeping up her throat, threatening to make a reappearance. She tried to swallow it down, but that only made it worse. She wrenched into the small dish. Lindsey opened her eyes at the noise, then ran to get a nurse.

She was first stopped by Warrick who could see panic on her face. "Lindsey, what's going on? Is she alright?"

"She's throwing up, she gonna need another dish."

"I'll get a nurse, you stay with her." Warrick said, and found a nurse quickly, and Lindsey ran back into the room.

Catherine was shaking, sweating, and crying as she continued to vomit. The pain was agonizing because of her fractured ribs. Lindsey gently put her hand on Catherine's back, and the nurse switched the small dish for a larger tub. She vomited a couple more times, then she felt better. She leaned back in the bed, and tried to slow her breathing. Her fractured ribs made every movement cause extreme pain. The tub still remained on her lap, and she slowly went to push it away. "I-I'm..."

Lindsey knew what she was trying to say. "She's done with this. You can take it away."

The nurse didn't like that idea. "Are you sure, because what if she-"

"-She won't. She'll be fine. This happen last night to." Lindsey said.

The nurse hesitantly took it away, and Warrick handed her a damp paper towel for her face, and she accepted it. Warrick turned to the nurse. "What's going on? Do you know what's causing this?" He asked.

The nurse said, "Usually if it's only once like that, it's a result of stress and anxiety. We'll keep a close eye on her, and make sure that's all it is." The nurse said and walked out.

Lindsey carefully climbed in the bed next to Catherine. "I'm glad it's not a secret anymore, and we're safe."

"Me too Linds." Catherine said, even though she didn't believe they were safe. She put her arm around her daughter, and they both fell asleep.

* * *

><p><strong>Please let me know if you liked it or not! I hope you enjoyed it!<strong>


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry it took so long for the update, I only got one review so I haven't really been motivated to write it. Here is the next chapter! Thank you malfoystinksstinks for the review! This chapter is for you!**

* * *

><p>A few minutes went by, and Sara entered the room. "Hey, I'm sorry but I have to photograph your injuries right now."<p>

Catherine closed her eyes. "Okay." She said, and then nodded at Warrick.

"Come on Lindsey." Warrick took Lindsey out with him.

Catherine watched them leave, then swallowed hard. She did not want to do this.

"I'm so sorry Catherine. It will only take a few minutes, I'll try to get it over with quick, and make it as painless as possible." Sara said. "Now, can you lower the gown, please?"

Catherine lowered it so her shoulders and chest were showing, and looked away when Sara took the picture. A tear rolled down Catherine's cheek, and she brushed it away quickly.

"Thank you, can you lift up your gown?" Sara asked, and Catherine did, revealing her deeply bruised stomach. Sara couldn't believe what she saw, it was horrifying to think what she must have went through in order to acquire those bruises. Although, she didn't let on that the sight affected her, her stomach was reeling. "Are there any other areas?"

"My back." Catherine said, and tried to roll over to show Sara. Sara assisted Catherine rolling over, and parted the hospital gown to reveal many scrapes and bruises covering her entire back. She snapped a couple quick photos, and helped Catherine lay gently on her back again.

"Is that it?"

"I think so." Catherine said. She knew she had a couple scrapes and bruises on her legs, but she didn't bother mentioning them. She just wanted it to be over, she was exhausted.

"So, how have you been feeling?" Sara asked.

"Okay, I guess, considering. Sara, I'm sorry, I'm really tired. Will you promise to come back after work?"

"Yes, I will. Get some rest." Sara said, then she left Catherine's room and Lindsey and Warrick reentered.

* * *

><p>Lindsey and Warrick stayed with her all night, Lindsey only got glimpses of sleep because of the nurses' continuous checking up on Catherine. "Mom, how am I going to get to school?" Lindsey asked in the morning.<p>

"Honey, you're not going to school today." Catherine said. There was no way, even if she found her a ride, that she would allow Lindsey to go to school with Simon still out there.

"But mom, I have to be there because I told Kaileigh I would help her with something."

"You can help her later. You're not going today."

"Mom, everyone's going to be talking about me. I showed up with a black eye, then got pulled out by the cops, and don't show up the next day. Do you know what kind of things they're probably saying about me?"

"Your safety comes first. Now, you can either stay here, or see if someone wants to take you to the lab. I'll call your school, and excuse you."

Lindsey sighed and rolled her eyes. Lindsey's reason wasn't entirely true. Her friends at school were planning a party for the weekend, and she wanted it to be at her old house, it was the perfect place. She wanted to be at school to tell them. She walked out of the room to ask Warrick to take her to school. When Lindsey came out of her mother's room, Sara was there and Warrick was leaving. She ran to catch up to Warrick. "Warrick. Can you give me a ride to school?"

He turned around to face Lindsey. "No, Lindsey. I'm going to the lab, if you want me to take you there, you have to ask your mom."

"Okay." Lindsey said, and she hurried and told her mom she was going with Warrick to the lab. It wasn't because she wanted to leave her mom, it was because she hoped someone at the lab would give her a ride to school, plus she was sick of the hospital. Catherine allowed her to go with Warrick, and they left to the lab.

The nurse entered Catherine's room right after Sara had gone in to check up on her. "Hello, Catherine, how are you feeling today?"

"I'm doing alright. When can I go home?"

"I'll have to check with the doctor and everything, but I assume if all goes well, we could get you out of here this afternoon. Your chances are looking good." The nurse said with a smile.

Catherine looked at Sara. "Where would I go? I can't go home."

"You can..." She was about to offer for her to stay at her place, but she'd been spending more time at Grissom's recently, and didn't know if the current condition of her place was suitable for visitors. "Um, my place is kind of a wreck right now, but you can stay there if you give me some time to clean it up."

"Sara, I really don't care. Have you seen my house recently?" Catherine said with a forced smile.

Sara smiled back. "We'll figure something out."

"If it's too much of a hassle, I can call one of the guys, it's no problem. I don't want you to feel obligated."

"No, it's fine. I don't mind." Sara said with a reassuring smile.

* * *

><p>At the lab, Lindsey and Warrick arrived, and Warrick showed Lindsey to Catherine's office, then went to catch up on where they were with the hunt for Simon.<p>

Lindsey sat in her mother's office alone. She looked at the picture of her when she was younger that had been sitting on her mother's desk for a while, then she looked in the drawer. She didn't quite know what she was looking for, but she found something. She found pressed against the side of her drawer, a picture of Catherine and Simon, just after they were married, before he started hitting her. She stared at the picture for a while. They looked happy, they looked like any regular happy couple would. They reminded Lindsey of the old pictures she was shown of Catherine with Lindsey's father, Eddie.

A man walked into the lab, and walked to the front desk. "Hello, can I speak with someone working Catherine Willows' case?" He said, sounding panicked, and in a hurry. They directed him to Nick when, they saw him walking by. The man walked over to Nick. "Excuse me, are you working Catherine Willows' case?" He asked.

"Yes sir, what can I help you with?"

"I have a message. For you it's from Simmon or Simon. I forgot, I forget when I get nervous." The man said.

"Who are you?"

"My name is John, he told me to give you a message. That's what I'm here to do."

"What's the message, John? And how much is he paying you?"

"He wanted me to tell you, to tell Catherine, that it will never be over. He's left the country, but his people aren't going to let it rest, unless she joins him. He will never stop loving her."

"Get lost." Nick said, becoming extremely angry.

"You have to give her the message. She can reach him at this number." He said, and reached out with a trembling hand to hand over a little piece of paper with a phone number on it. When the man turned to leave, he got a look in Catherine's office, and saw Lindsey staring at him. Then, he practically ran out of the lab.

Once the man left, Lindsey came out of her mother's office, and slowly walked up to Nick. "Hey, what's going on Lindsey?" Nick said.

"Why was Simon here? I thought he was in jail."

"What? Simon was here?"

"Yeah, just now... You were talking to him." Lindsey said.

Nick's eyes widened, and he ran out of the lab after Simon, but it was too late. Simon was gone.

* * *

><p><strong>So, did you like it? Please let me know what you thought! Please review so, updates will be quicker. <strong>


	8. Chapter 8

**Here is the next chapter!**

* * *

><p>Catherine sat, anxious to leave the hospital. She had gotten word earlier that Simon was looking for her, but she didn't care, she was leaving. She felt safe as long as her team was protecting her. Okay, that wasn't entirely true. She was terrified Simon or his friends would find her, and who knows what they would do? They could kidnap her, kill her without giving it the slightest thought, or maybe even involve her team in it. "Catherine. Catherine. You ready?" Sara said, bringing Catherine out of her thoughts.<p>

"Yeah. Um, yeah." She said. Then, Catherine got out of the bed, and in the wheelchair. Every movement caused her great pain with her fractured ribs, and concussion, but she hid it fairly well. A nurse wheeled her out to Nick's car, and Sara helped her in the car. Once Catherine was in the car, she let out a sigh of relief. She was finally leaving, and going home, well not exactly home, but she was going somewhere where she would be more comfortable. Out of the hospital.

Sara and Nick helped Catherine up to Sara's second floor apartment. Once they were to the second floor, Catherine refused to accept their help, and insisted she could make it on her own. Nick walked closely behind her, shadowing her in case she were to lose her balance, but she was steady. Sara opened her apartment door, and they all walked in. Nick shut the door behind him, and Catherine took a seat on the couch. "Sorry about the mess." Sara apologized even though, her place wasn't _that_ messy. She had papers scattered in different places, and a couple dishes in the sink, but her bed was made. That was one thing, she always kept her bed made.

"No, it's really not even messy." Catherine said, and laid on the couch, and closed her eyes to, try to ease her pounding headache.

"Oh, I just changed the sheets, I'm sure my bed would be much more comfortable for you." Sara said.

"No, this perfectly fine, seriously. It's a lot more comfortable than the floor that I usually sleep on."

Sara and Nick just looked at each other, they didn't quite know how to respond to that. After a moment of silence, Nick finally asked, "He never let you sleep in the bed?"

"No... sometimes he did. But, usually he would leave me... wherever I passed out. He would drag me in the bedroom if Lindsey were about to come home, but that's it. Wasn't very comfortable." Catherine said as she shifted on the couch, trying to find where was most comfortable.

"Get some rest, Cath." Nick said, then turned his attention to Sara. "I'll be back in a couple hours. Once Lindsey gets off school, I'll bring her by, if you're good with that."

"Of course." Sara said. "Wait. Lindsey's at school? I thought Catherine said she didn't want her to go?"

"Well, Sofia took her, and I just assumed it was okay. If it's not I could..." Nick started, and motioned to the door, but Sara cut him off.

"Yeah, you probably should. The last thing we want is for Simon to get ahold of Lindsey."

"Alright." Nick said, then left to pick up Lindsey.

* * *

><p>At the lab, Nick had given the phone number to Warrick before he went to pick up Catherine from the hospital. Grissom called the number on the piece of paper and put it on speaker, after they had done their research on the cell phone, only to find out it was a prepaid, disposable cell phone. "<em>Catherine?<em>" Said the voice on the other end of the line.

Sofia answered, she sounded nothing like Catherine, but they hoped it would be enough to at least get a little information from him, or buy time, and try to find out where he was. "Simon" Sofia said in her best imitation of Catherine. Simon knew immediately that it wasn't Catherine, but he continued with the conversation.

"_Hey. Who is this? I know it's not my baby girl._"

"How'd you know?"

"_I know my baby's voice. Hey. Next time you see her, can you tell her I miss her, and I wish I could see her. And also, give her my number will you, please?_" Simon said, and hung up the phone.

Sofia did as well. They stood in the lab quiet for a few seconds, unsure of what they should do next, waiting for an answer. "So, do we tell Catherine about this or not?" Greg asked.

"If we tell Catherine, she'll want to go after him. She'll wanna meet up with him." Warrick said. "And I don't think she should."

Grissom picked up the paper with his number on it, and started toward the door. "I'm gonna tell her. She deserves to know. She's old enough to make her own decision, and we can help direct her to the right one." He said before anyone could say anything.

* * *

><p>Grissom arrived at Sara's apartment before Nick was back with Lindsey. He knocked at the door, and Sara answered. "Grissom." She said in shock when she answered the door.<p>

"Hi Sara, I need to talk to Catherine."

"Sure, come on in." She said, closing the door behind him.

Grissom took a seat in the chair near the couch Catherine was lying on. Sara pretended to be busy in the other room, trying to give them their space. Catherine slowly sat up when she saw Grissom enter, she felt ashamed of what she thought was her own fault, of allowing Simon to hurt her this badly, and tried to cover her pain. "Are you okay?" He asked, noticing the pain it was causing her to sit.

"I'm fine."

"Okay. Well, we've been in contact with Simon."

"What?"

"He gave us his phone number. He wants you to call him, and meet him somewhere. He wouldn't say anything else, he'll only talk to you now."

Catherine nodded to show she understood. "So, I have to call him."

"No. You don't have to. Catherine, we will protect you until he is behind bars. You don't have to do anything. I came as a courtesy to you, to keep you updated on this case. I'm going to advise you not to answer any calls that may be from him."

"It may be the only way you can get him."

"Catherine, please listen to me. I don't want you having any contact with this man at all, after what he did to you. He's not afraid to do it again. Understood?"

Catherine nodded. She knew he was right, but she still wanted to go after him. If he had called her, she would've answered, but he never did. Simon waited for her call for a couple days, and contemplated calling her. Simon and his friends tried to find a way out of the city, but it seemed impossible. There were road blocks on all roads leading out of the city. He would have to stay in Vegas a little while longer.

* * *

><p>It was Friday night. Lindsey had been going to school all week, but not without an officer nearby at all times. She had convinced her friends to have the party at her old house, and it was tonight. They were at Sara's apartment when it was almost time to go to the party. Lindsey had locked herself in the bathroom for almost an hour now. She unlocked the bathroom door before, she climbed out the window, and down to her friend's car. She left a note for her mom that read; <em>don't worry about me, I'm fine. I just went to my friend's house. I need to have a little fun without a protection detail following me around. Don't send out everyone to search for me or anything. I'll be back before morning. -xxLindsey.<em>

A few minutes after she left, Catherine started to worry. She knocked on the bathroom door. "Lindsey!" But there was no answer. "Lindsey, answer me, or I'm coming in!" There was still no answer. Catherine opened the door, surprised to find it unlocked. No one was there, Catherine started to panic. She thought for sure Simon had taken her. "Sara!" Then, she found the note. Sara entered as Catherine finished reading the note.

"What is it?" Sara asked, and Catherine handed her the note.

"She won't be safe, he's gonna find her."

"No, she'll be fine. It'll be fine." She thought about trying to call Lindsey, but then she spotted her cell phone on the counter. Lindsey didn't want anyone to track her down. "She'll come home." Sara tried to reassure Catherine. But she didn't.

* * *

><p>Lindsey got to her house just before people started to arrive. Her friends brought drinks, and she blasted the music. Lindsey was having the time of her life, finally getting away from all the fear, and worry that surrounded her lately. The house filled quickly, and there were easily over a hundred people in the house. With that many people, it makes it hard to notice when certain unwanted guests arrive. He entered through the front door, and knew Lindsey was inside. He finally found her, and sneaked up behind her. "One word, and you're dead." Lindsey jumped to see who it was. Simon smiled down at her. She followed his orders as he led her out of the house, and into his friend's car.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>So, what did you think? Please review!<strong>


	9. Chapter 9

**Here is the next chapter! Thank you to all who reviewed the last chapter!**

**.**

* * *

><p>Catherine waited all night for Lindsey to come home, but she never did. She was up all night, worried about what Simon could be doing with Lindsey right now. Her mind showed her horrifying images every time she closed her eyes, but she didn't want to believe it. <em>She'll come back she has to, right? She said she would. <em>But the later it got the more worried she became, and the more convinced she was that Lindsey wasn't coming home. Finally, it was about six AM when Catherine knew for sure Lindsey wasn't coming home. Catherine knew it was time to call her team, so she decided to take a trip to the lab.

* * *

><p>Sara and Catherine arrived at the lab just before their shift had ended. They walked in, and were met with stares from all the lab techs and other CSIs in the lab. Warrick walked up to Catherine as soon as he saw her there. "Hey, Cath, how you doing?"<p>

"Lindsey's been kidnapped. It was Simon, he took her." Catherine quickly told him.

"Woah, Catherine. How do you know this?"

"She snuck out last night, left a note saying she would be back before morning, but she hasn't come back. I know Simon took her. Warrick we have to find her. Do you have any idea what he could be doing to her right now?"

"Okay. Catherine. We're gonna find her, okay? Just stay calm, and we'll find her, I promise." Warrick said softly, and then pulled Catherine in for a hug, as she was clearly distraught. She cried in his arms, and he pulled back from the hug. "Cath." She looked up at him. "Promise me you're not going to do anything stupid. We can get Lindsey back... the right way." He said, knowing what was going through her mind. He knew she would do anything to make sure Lindsey stayed safe, no matter what the cost, and that terrified him.

"Okay." Catherine said, not really listening to him. She couldn't think about anything, but Lindsey and what she could do to ensure her daughter's safety.

"Catherine. Come on." Warrick said, and brought Catherine into the break room.

* * *

><p>After Warrick had informed the others about what was going on, they started the search for Lindsey. The first person they brought in to talk to was, Lindsey's friend, Kaileigh. Kaileigh came with her mother with her. They were both dressed in high-end clothing, and obviously not in the mood to be in the police station. They had no idea why the police wanted to talk to them so, they had a bit of an attitude at first.<p>

Brass came in, and pulled Kaileigh's mother into his office. Then, Nick walked in, and pulled Kaileigh into his office. "Why am I here? You can't question me without my lawyer present." She stated.

"Woah, take it easy. You're not in trouble. I just wanna talk."

"Fine. What do you want?"

"When was the last time you saw Lindsey Willows?" He asked.

"Last night. Why?"

"Where were you last night?"

"Umm, are you interrogating me? Like, what's going on?"

"We have reason to believe Lindsey was abducted last night. Now we need your help to find her. So, if you cooperate, this will be a lot easier for the both of us." Nick said, not letting it show how much this girl irritated him.

"Okay. We were at a party. It was at like her house, but nobody lived there anymore. I don't know. It was a great party."

"Did you see anything unusual that happen?"

"Well, Linds she was with some older guy. I saw him whisper something to her, then they walked out together. I tried to follow her to see where she was going, but all I saw was them both get in the backseat, then the car took off. I didn't see her after that. Did I just solve this case?"

"Not unless you can tell us where they went after that."

"I dunno. Somewhere."

* * *

><p>Lindsey sat in the back of the car. She couldn't believe how stupid she had been. But in her defense, her mom didn't tell her Simon was still out there. Yes, Lindsey had seen Simon when he had walked into the lab, but her mom told her it was taken care of, and it would be fine. Catherine tried to make sure Lindsey wasn't worried about it, and she had done that. Lindsey wasn't at all worried that night. She thought her mom was being over protective, and all she wanted was to feel normal again. That wass why she snuck out.<p>

Simon and his friend got out of the car, then they let Lindsey out. They didn't restrain her at all, she could've tried to run, but she didn't she was too scared, and she had no idea where she was. They walked her up to the house, and then lead her down into the basement. It was a big house, it could look nice if they took care of it, but they didn't.

Simon and his few friends they worked a lot. They owned a night club, but it wasn't like all the regular ones. This one was different, it was almost like a college party, except everything cost money. They had it right in their house almost every night. The neighbors were spaced too far apart for them to ever hear anything. Plus, two of the friends owned two of the houses next to it, and the third was a guy who went to the parties. They sold all kinds of drinks in the kitchen, and all the different kinds of drugs there as well. And if you wanted a private upstairs room, that would cost too. The girls were sold separate from the room, and there was usually one minor that was sold for ten times more money. It was basically a huge illegal operation that was run in that house, but the police never knew about it. They made loads of money every night, and since there was only a few guys running the thing they were all filthy rich.

Lindsey was locked in the basement. She turned around and saw another girl in there. "Who'd _you_ piss off?" The girl asked. She was older, about twenty-three, and dressed in a really short and low-cut dress.

"Simon." Lindsey said quietly.

"Oh, he's a real piece of work, that one. What'd you do?"

"Well, my mom was married to him. He hit her, and my mom's a cop so, she told her friends. He got away, and found me at a party. What about you?" She asked, she didn't want to talk about herself anymore.

"Well, Richard, stupid son of a bitch. He wanted drugs, but I wouldn't give them to him. Those damn things are expensive. A few days later, I found myself here in this hell hole."

"Just because you wouldn't give him drugs?"

"Yeah. I told him he could buy his own damn drugs. He wasn't even gonna pay me for them. I was like hell no, I told him to get lost. What's your name?"

"Lindsey."

"Hey, I'm Isela."

"How long have you been here?"

"About two months. It's not too bad, after the first week you get used to it. Hell I must've lost like twenty pounds being here. Not too bad, right?" Isela said. Lindsey just looked at her, she couldn't imagine staying in that place for months to come. "Hey, let me introduce you to the rest of us."

_There's more? How long have all these people been missing, and no one has found them yet? _Lindsey thought, as Isela lead her further in the large basement. The basement was almost like a little house, there were different rooms, and the girls had made the place look reasonable. The guys never went down there, except when they needed a girl to satisfy a customer. What the girl's got from it, was either a clothing item, makeup, or food. All the girls met in a small room, and there was three mattresses in there. There was about seventeen girls, counting Lindsey. One girl younger than Lindsey, about nine, the minor. Now they had two. They explained all the rules to Lindsey. They gave her different clothes, and explained how they would bring people down there, and they would choose which girl they wanted. Then, in the morning, the girl would be rewarded with almost always food. They told her, "If you don't work, you don't eat."

Another girl added. "Also, if you work hard enough, he'll let you go. But that's only happen once before." That's what the girls were told, but it wasn't the slightest bit true. The other girl was caught trying to escape, and the guys told the girls a different story.

Lindsey tried to take in all this information. It was a lot for one time. She was sort of relieved she wouldn't be with Simon really at all, and he wouldn't kill her like she thought he'd do when she first saw him at her party.

* * *

><p>Warrick, along with Grissom, Greg, and Sofia arrived at Catherine's house, and they saw what remained of the party. "Man, this thing was wild. I remember those good ole days." Warrick said, and everyone turned and looked at him. "What? Don't tell me you never went to any parties like this when you were in high school."<p>

They processed the house thoroughly, and after they were done collecting the loads of evidence, they noticed a security camera on the other side of the street. They asked the owners if they could look at the footage from that night, and the neighbors allowed them too. They watched through the footage, and were able to get a surprisingly good look at the vehicle.

.

* * *

><p>Catherine sat alone in the lab. She had Simon's number in one hand, and her phone in the other. She slowly dialed his number. "Hey. What do I have to do to get Lindsey back?"<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Please take a couple seconds to review, and let me know what you thought of this chapter! <strong>


	10. Chapter 10

**Here is chapter ten, wow!**

* * *

><p>Catherine hung up the phone after talking to Simon, and rushed out of the lab. Sara gave her a ride to the lab so, she didn't have a car, but she knew she had to find a way to get to where Simon said. She ran to the road, careful to not be seen by anyone at the lab. She had to get out undetected. Her head was pounding, but adrenaline kept her moving. She knew she <em>should<em> tell somebody, and they could trace her, or she could wear a wire, but Simon told her not to. She didn't want him to be mad, and hurt Lindsey. She didn't know what he would do, or if she would really get her back, but she didn't think she had any other option. Once she made it to the street, she pulled out her phone. She dialed Simon's number, and heard three rings before he picked it up. "Simon. I don't know how you expect me to go anywhere without a car. Can we meet somewhere by the lab? ... No, this isn't a trick. ... Okay. Whatever I have to do, but you promise I'll get her back? ... Okay." She hung up the phone, and took a deep breath, then held her side as she remembered her fractured ribs were still healing. She walked over a couple blocks, constantly checking behind her to be sure no one from the lab had followed her out. Catherine finally arrived at the location Simon told her to go to, and she waited for him.

She only had to wait a couple minutes, and a car pulled up next to her. "Get in." The driver said.

She didn't recognize him, but she followed his orders knowing it was one of Simon's friends. She sat in the passenger seat, and was amazed at how much he trusted her, but she knew it was only because, if she tried anything, they would kill Lindsey. Plus, it's not like she was being kidnapped, she went willingly. Catherine went with him, and they took her to Simon.

* * *

><p>At the lab, the team was busy looking at the surveillance footage from the house. They were trying to get a clear shot of the driver, and license plate. They were able to restore the image, and make the driver and license clear. Sara ran the license plate, and it came back stolen. Greg ran the driver through facial recognition, and he found a match. "Hey guys, the driver is, Kevin Grant he is in the system for DUI, but nothing other than that."<p>

"Is there a current address?" Grissom asked.

"Yeah, uh right here."

"We got him." Warrick said, jumping up, and heading out of the door. "I'll let Catherine know." He said, and went to the break room where he had last seen her, but she wasn't there. "Hey, anyone know where Catherine is?" He asked, coming out of the break room.

Nobody knew, they all thought she was in the break room. They checked all around the lab, and outside, but she was nowhere to be found.

* * *

><p>Catherine was paying close attention as to where they were, and what streets he was taking, but he didn't seem to be too worried about it. He took her to their house, and pulled up in the driveway. He let Catherine out, and walked with her up to the house. He made her hand over her gun before she got inside.<p>

They walked in, and met up with the rest of the guys. Simon stood as soon as he saw them enter. "Nice job, Richard." He said, and walked over to Catherine. He stood in front of her, face to face.

"Where's Lindsey?" Catherine asked, but Simon wasn't listening.

He slapped her. "That was for all that you put me through, having to run from the police and all."

It sent a shooting pain through her head. The pain was massive due to her recent concussion. She brushed it off, not wanting to make him more upset.

She held her head, and said, "Simon. I already told you I'd do whatever you want me to, just let Lindsey go."

"Okay. I will, but on one condition, maybe, two."

"What?" She asked, knowing she would not like whatever he was about to say.

"You stay here, with me. But honestly, now you don't have a choice. So, to let Lindsey go, give me the name of your friend."

"What?"

"You know, that friend, the one Lindsey was on the phone with that one time at our house."

After Simon said that, she knew it was Sara he was talking about. "I don't know who you're talking about."

"Yeah you do. Quit lying!" He shouted.

She knew he was getting angry, and he would hit her if she didn't say anything soon, but she couldn't do that to Sara, she didn't know what he would do to her, nor did she want to know. "I don't know who it was. It was Lindsey on the phone, not me."

"Okay. Bring her in here." Simon said to the guys, and two of them, Richard and Kevin went to get Lindsey.

* * *

><p>Lindsey was sitting in the basement, trying to get used to this place, and talking to the girls. The only girl she sort of knew was Isela, and she followed her while Isela showed her around. "So, like you're a minor so, you're gonna be chosen every night. Minors always go first. The perp comes walking in here, and they see a kid, they drop a crap ton of money, and take you for the night. Hell, I wish I was a minor, I'd get to eat every day. Usually though, the girls that eat, they sneak in food for the rest of us."<p>

"Why can't they just give us all food, they have enough money, right?"

"We don't bring them the dough, they don't spend it on us. Plus, they think the reason you didn't get picked is because you're a flippin cow, you'll lose weight if you don't eat. And it makes us work harder at our job."

"So, when we get picked, what do we have to do? Like…"

"Honey, you ain't got nothing to worry about. They'll do all the work for you, just do whatever they tell you. Like I said, you're a minor."

"Okay." Lindsey said, but she was terrified. If she ever got to see her family and friends again, they would hate her, they wouldn't be able to look at her after they knew what happen. That was all she could think about. It terrified her.

Richard and Kevin barged into the basement, and all the girls rushed into the front room, and then the guys took Lindsey by the arm, and left. Lindsey shot Isela a terrified glance, and Isela shot one back. That wasn't how it usually worked, she knew something was wrong.

They brought Lindsey up to the kitchen, and she saw her mom standing there. "Mom."

"Don't get too excited sweetie." Simon said. "Your mom wasn't cooperating so, we need you to answer a simple question for me. Who were you talking to on the phone?"

"I don't know. What?"

He walked over to her, and stood in front of her. "Who were you talking to on the phone?" Simon asked again.

"When? I don't know." She said, scared to death, and unable to think clearly at that moment.

Simon smacked her clear across the face, and that infuriated Catherine. She ran, and tried to pull Simon away from her daughter, but the other guys pulled her away, and started hitting her until they were satisfied. She didn't know which hurt more, her ribs or her head. They were both equally killing her. She sat on the ground, and in too much pain to care. Simon turned his attention back to Lindsey, and asked her, "For the last time, what is her name? Who were you talking to that one night at our house?"

"Sara." Lindsey said out of fear, but regretting saying it as soon as she saw the smile spread across Simon's face.

"There you go, give me her information." Simon said, turning toward Catherine. "And I'll let her go."

"I can't do that to either one of them. Please, just take me, and let her go. You can do whatever you want to me."

"Give me Sara's information, if it checks out, I'll let Lindsey go."

Lindsey's eyes widened. "Mom, do it, trust me." Lindsey said, thinking she would be able to help if she was set free.

"You'll give her a ride back to the city?"

"I will." Simon said.

Catherine hesitantly wrote down what information Simon asked for, and two of the guys took off. Simon took Lindsey and Catherine down to the basement. He pushed Catherine down the stairs, and let Lindsey walk in after, and closed the door. "Mom!" Lindsey yelled. No one had come to greet them which, Lindsey thought was weird. She kneeled down by her mom who was not responding to her, and was lying at the bottom of the stairs. "Isela!" She yelled, it was the only name she remembered.

Isela came running in. "What? What the hell happen? Who the hell is she?"

"My mom. He pushed her down the stairs. She won't answer me. She just got out of the hospital, and now..." Lindsey started to panic.

"What's her name?"

"Catherine."

"Okay. Catherine. Can you hear me? Come on, now." Isela said, trying to get Catherine to respond.

Catherine winced in pain, but didn't respond in any other way.

"Lindsey, let's get her to a bed. Alright?"

"Okay." Lindsey said, and helped carry her to one of the mattresses in the other room. Once Catherine was set on the mattress, Lindsey sat beside her. "Mom. Mom, are you okay?"

"Lemme go get another girl, I think one of them was a nurse." Isela said, and walked out.

* * *

><p>Warrick, Greg, and Grissom headed to the address of Kevin Grant. As soon as they arrived at the house, they knew the address was a fake. The house was old and run-down. There were dead plants in the front yard, and the house looked like no one had been in there for at least a couple years now. "Doesn't look like anyone has lived here for a while." Greg said when he saw the abandoned-looking building.<p>

They walked inside with their guns drawn, and they found someone sleeping in one of the rooms. Warrick walked closer, thinking this man was dead, and it was possibly Kevin. As he approached, the guy jumped up, and put his hands up as soon as he saw the guns pointed at him. "Woah, woah, I-I just sleep here. I'll find somewhere else if you'd like. I-I'm sorry, I didn't think anybody lived here." The homeless man said, with wide eyes.

The house was a big dead end.

* * *

><p><strong>Please take a couple seconds to review, and let me know if you liked this chapter!<strong>


	11. Chapter 11

**Here is the next chapter. This one was pretty difficult to write because I got one review. So, sorry, but here it is.**

* * *

><p>Catherine was lying on the mattress in the room, and her eyes fluttered open. Her ribs hurting now more than ever, and her head not seeming as if it would give her a rest anytime soon. Victoria, the girl who was a nurse, was sitting next to the mattress. "How are you feeling?" She asked. Lindsey was sitting on the mattress next to Catherine, and Isela was standing behind Victoria, and they all stared at Catherine and waited for a response.<p>

Catherine had no idea where she was, or who these people were, except Lindsey. Of course she knew Lindsey. "What? Linds..."

"Mom, are you okay?" Lindsey asked.

"Where am I?"

"Hell." Isela said bluntly.

"Isela, please." Victoria said.

"What? It's true." Isela shrugged.

Lindsey told her mom where they were, trying really hard to hold back the tears. She explained everything to her, just as Isela had done for Lindsey hours before. Victoria interrupted toward the end. "Excuse me. Can I talk to Catherine, please?"

"Yeah. Sorry." Lindsey apologized.

"Now, Catherine, how are you feeling? What hurts? I can tell you're in pain."

"My head, my stomach, my back."

"She got out of the hospital a few days ago." Lindsey said.

"Lindsey, I'm talking to Catherine right now. If I need your help, I'll ask you. Catherine, what were you in the hospital for?"

"Fractured ribs, concussion, some other stuff."

"Were you on any pain killers?"

"Yes."

"What happen before you blacked out?"

"They were hitting me, and punching me until I thought I was going to die. He threw me down the stairs."

"Okay. Has the pain increased since the last time you were off your pain killers?"

Catherine tried to remember back that far, and the last she could remember that she hadn't been on medication was, when Simon had beat her at his house right before her team rescued her. She tried to remember the pain. It seemed a thousand times worse as she remembered it. "No."

"Okay. That's good. We don't have any medication here, so you're gonna have to lay here until it gets better, and try not to push it. You may have broken or fractured something, we just have to wait for it to heal. I'll sneak you down some food, I get chosen every night, and I'm sure Lindsey will too."

The thought of it terrified Lindsey, she had managed to put the entire situation to the back of her mind as she focused on the nice girls around her, never really thinking about what was about to happen in the next coming hours.

"Who's gonna take care a her when you're gone?" Isela asked Victoria.

"She'll be fine."

Then, they heard music coming from above. The girls all looked at each other, they knew the guys would start coming down soon.

* * *

><p>Simon was out looking for Sara. He was waiting outside her apartment, waiting for her to come out to go to work. She had gone home, and got a couple hours of sleep after pulling a triple, looking for Simon. When she finally came out it was, 10:24 PM, and Simon knew he was going to be late brining her in, and they were gonna have to start the party without him.<p>

Sara walked out of her house, and made it to her car, but as soon as she got in, and started backing up. Simon pulled his car up to block hers from backing up, and then got out of his car. Sara was confused, and did the same. When she got out, she saw Simon standing there, and recognized him, she tried to run back inside her car, while calling Grissom, but Simon grabbed her. He whispered in her ear as she tried to fight. "You fight me and Catherine and Lindsey are dead. Come on."

Sara just stared at him, she had her phone in her hand, and hit call, and it started dialing Grissom. "Sara." Grissom said into the phone.

"What do you want, Simon?"

"Come with me." Simon said, and he got into his car. "Or Catherine and Lindsey die. It's up to you."

Sara reluctantly got inside his car, and they drove to the house.

* * *

><p>Grissom was still on the phone with Sara, she had slipped her phone into her pocket, and all the words were muffled. Grissom could tell she was with Simon, but he tried to find out where they were going. He tried to get a location on her cell, but it hadn't connected yet. He could hear Sara continuously asking him where he was taking them, but she never was able to get an answer. Simon only yelled at her or said, "You'll see." But that was it, he never revealed the location. As Grissom listened into the phone, he eventually heard them order her to hand over her phone, and then it went dead. Grissom dropped his head in frustration, then turned his attention over to the computer. It was still searching for a location on her phone. His eyes were glued to the screen, it was his only hope at the moment. It stopped searching, Grissom's heart started racing as something popped up on the screen. He hoped for it to be a location, and not, <em>Could not find a location. <em>His mind was racing over a hundred miles an hour, and it only took him about .4 seconds to look over at the pop up.

* * *

><p>Kevin and Richard came down into the basement with another man, and all the girls lined up, except Catherine. The guys started whispering, negotiating deals. The guy handed over a wad of money. Then, he turned to the girls, and Kevin pointed at the nine-year-old, and the four of them went upstairs. Isela rolled her eyes, and looked at Lindsey. "I told you, every damn time. You're next." Lindsey's eyes widened with fear, she thought she would be getting away, that was why her mom had come here, right? She couldn't think about it, it was making her sick.<p>

Only a couple seconds later before they walked in again with another man. Lindsey was shaking uncontrollably. They whispered amongst themselves, and the man started getting mad, and Richard kept shaking his head. "Fine." The man said, and then Richard pointed to Isela. Isela was in shock at first, but then smiled. They walked back up the stairs with Isela.

It was a few minutes later when, the guys came back down with another guy with them. They worked out a quick deal, then Kevin pointed to Lindsey. She froze, she didn't want to do this. She was going to be sick. She couldn't hide her shaking as she slowly walked up the stairs with them. As she got up, she saw Simon return with Sara, and head toward the basement. "Some guy already bought her for the night." She could hear Richard say.

"Okay, we'll let her go in the morning. Let her stay the night with him."

Lindsey heard their conversation, and was terrified. She would have to spend the entire night with this dirty old man, and who knows what he would do to her. She started crying, she tried not to, but she couldn't help it. The man she was with saw, but he didn't care. He took her to the room, and told her to sit on the bed. She did as she was told, and he slipped into the conjoining bathroom. She cried as she sat on the bed, and waited for him to return, knowing there was nothing she could do to stop any of it.

He reentered the bedroom wearing only his boxers, and Lindsey scooted to the head of the bed, bringing her knees to her chest. "Hey, beautiful. Just do as I say, and it won't hurt as much. Okay? No need to be scared. You're too pretty. Lindsey didn't know what to do, she was confused, and had no idea what was happening. She heard yelling from outside the room, and she wondered what the fight was over. She wished this guy would go out there and see, and get beaten to death. He had managed to get her dress off without her cooperation, and she sat in her bra and panties and he leaned in to give her a kiss. She turned her head, and he kissed her neck instead. He wouldn't stop. Lindsey had never done it before, most of her friends had, but she was only fourteen, and she never really had a boyfriend for long enough to get that serious. She was waiting for the right time, and this was definitely not it. He undid her bra, but Lindsey held it in place.

"What are you doing? Come on, sweetheart, just trust me. I'll take it a little slower if you'd like." He suggested.

Lindsey nodded, hoping it could buy her a little time to get herself together, and accept what was bound to happen.

The guy placed a hand on Lindsey's shoulder, and slid off the strap, and did the same with the other side. It was only being covered by her hand now. He grabbed her wrist. "Let go." He said, and Lindsey squeezed her eyes shut, and then she heard a loud bang. Her eyes shot open, and she saw a bunch of guns pointed in her direction. She scooted back, and the guy held up his hands. "Woah, woah, what are you doing." One of the men ran up, and pulled they guy off of the bed, and took him out of the room.

Lindsey was so confused, she didn't know what was happening. She couldn't think straight, and her heart was racing. Then, she saw Nick run over to her. "Lindsey, Lindsey, its Nick. Are you okay. My gosh, Lindsey. He said, and he took off his jacket, and placed it over her shoulders. Lindsey come on, you're safe." He said, and Lindsey put the jacket on, and zipped it up. It was long, and hung almost like a short dress. Nick walked with her out of the house, and Lindsey didn't say a word the entire time.

Warrick opened the door to the basement with Grissom following behind. All the girls lined up, but they were confused when they saw who it was. Sara ran up, and wrapped her arms around Grissom as soon as she saw him. "Grissom." She said, then she yelled to the girls. "You're all safe now! Don't worry! Catherine is down the hall, to the right." She told Warrick, then fell back into Grissom's arms.

Warrick ran to the room Catherine was in all alone, and knelt down beside her mattress. "Cath, it's Warrick, you're safe." He said, trying to hold all his emotions inside so that she wouldn't know how scared he was for her. He knew she would need him to be strong for her.

She looked at him, and tears filled her eyes. "Warrick." She said out of relief, then she realized she had heard shots fired a couple seconds ago. "Is Lindsey okay?"

"I don't know yet. I'm sure she's fine. Lindsey's strong, you know that." He said, but he really had no idea where she was, or if anyone had found her yet.

* * *

><p><strong>Please review. The update will be a lot sooner if you review, and I love quick updates almost as much as you do, so, you know what to do!<strong>


	12. Chapter 12

**Here is the final chapter.**

* * *

><p>Lindsey sat outside the house, watching everyone walking out. Then, she looked at the ground, and stared, letting the tears fall from her eyes. Nick stood beside her, and didn't leave. As much as he wanted to go, and see how Catherine and Sara were, he couldn't leave Lindsey alone, not after what he had just seen. "Lindsey." He said, and placed his hand lightly on her shoulder. Lindsey jumped, and jerked away from his touch, but she remained quiet. Nick felt bad, he knew she would be jumpy, but he still wasn't cautious enough. "Lindsey, I know this is hard, but right now, I just need you to listen to me. Okay? Can you nod if you're listening?"<p>

Lindsey nodded, but she didn't say anything still. "Hey, I need you to go to the hospital, just so they can make sure you're all right. I can go with you in the ambulance if you'd like."

Lindsey raised her tear soaked face, and looked up at Nick, and nodded.

"Alright, let's go." Nick said, and they started walking toward one of the ambulances.

Then, two Paramedics and Sofia went running past them with a patient on the gurney. "We're going to get you to a hospital, you're going to be okay." One of the paramedics said. Then, noted how much blood they had already lost, and their body was giving up. They rushed the gunshot victim into the ambulance, and were off.

Lindsey stopped in her tracks when she saw them pass. "No, No, Isela! No! No!" She started crying, and sobbing. Nick wrapped her in his arms, and she cried on his shoulder.

"Shh, shh, it's okay. She'll be okay, Lindsey. She'll be alright." He said, but he really didn't know any more than Lindsey did on her condition.

* * *

><p>Another paramedic exited the house with Catherine, and Warrick beside her. Grissom and Sara followed them to the ambulance, then they went a separate way.<p>

Lindsey looked over to Nick after she saw her mom being taken away. Nick wanted to run over there, and demand someone to update him on Catherine's condition, and to let him ride with her, but he remained calm for Lindsey. He knew Warrick would take good care of Catherine, and it eased his worry a little. "She'll be fine." He said, displaying the confidence he lacked.

In the back of the ambulance, they gave Catherine the fluids she lacked, and kept her stable on the way to the hospital. All Catherine kept asking was, if Lindsey was going to be okay, and if they knew anything about her. Warrick said she was fine after, seeing her outside the house. With all the commotion, and craziness, he had somehow managed to see Lindsey standing with Nick in the crowds of people. After that, he told Catherine what he had seen, but she still continued to ask him. They arrived at the hospital just before Lindsey and Nick. The nurses wheeled Catherine off, and made Warrick wait in the waiting room. He sat in one of the chairs, and placed his face in his hands, and let out a deep sigh.

Shortly after, Nick and Lindsey entered the emergency room. The nurse went to take Lindsey back, but Lindsey grabbed hold of Nick's hand in panic. "No, you have to come with me."

"Well, Lindsey. I don't think they're gonna let me. I would if I could."

"No, it's okay, if you need to come back with her, you can." The nurse said.

"Thank you." Nick said.

* * *

><p>Jim Brass had Simon sitting straight across from him in the interrogation room. He had transported him personally to the station to be sure he would not escape this time around. Now they sat face to face, unsure of what good could possibly come of this, but he would still try to get a confession out of him. "Hey Simon. What was the point of all of this? Everything, that you put everyone through, for what?"<p>

Simon knew he had been caught, and saw no point in fighting it. He decided to give his reasoning. He knew they wouldn't be satisfied, but that was the point. "Just for fun, and I had a damn good time while it lasted too. You know, that cop. I know that's what you're really interested in, I only hit her when she deserved it. She deserved every last one too. You know her daughter was a sweetie. The only reason I took her, was to get Catherine to listen to me, it worked too. That other cop bitch, what's her name? Sara? Sierra? She heard something on the phone, I know she did. She was onto me from the get. I couldn't risk it, so I brought her with me."

"Are you serious right now?" Brass asked. "You are being charged with some serious crimes here, and you're reasoning is 'just for fun?'" He said as he shook his head. "You are a seriously sick son of a bitch."

Simon smiled. "Am I? Or are you just... biased. Do I need to request a new detective? Detective... um, sorry I didn't catch your name."

"You can call me Detective. I'm the only detective in here aren't I? I think the both of us will know who you're addressing." Brass said. "So why the house parties and everything?"

"It was fun, and we made bank!"

"It's all about the money, isn't it?"

"You bet your sweet ass it is."

Brass walked out of the interrogation room. "I can't wait to lock this nut case away, and personally throw away the key." He said to Ecklie who was standing on the observation room, watching through the double-sided mirror.

* * *

><p>Catherine was back on her pain medication, and she was still asking for Lindsey. Warrick sat beside her bed, and assured her she would see Lindsey soon enough.<p>

Lindsey was sitting with Nick after the nurse had finally left the room. She had only spoken when she had to, and the tears had not let up one bit. "Lindsey, you're mom wants to see you, do you think you're up for it?" Nick asked.

Lindsey nodded, and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Come on." Nick said.

Lindsey walked slowly beside him, down the hall past two door, and then reached Catherine's room. Lindsey saw her mom in the bed, and the relief in her eyes when Lindsey walked in, made Lindsey feel so much better. "Mom!" Lindsey said, and gave her a gentle hug.

"Lindsey, are you okay?"

Lindsey nodded. "Nick saved me."

Catherine looked to Nick, and he looked down modestly. "Thank you." Was all she was able to say, and then she hugged Lindsey again. Warrick and Nick exchanged glances and immediately knew they were both thinking the same, and walked out of the room together. "Are you okay, baby?" Catherine asked Lindsey.

"I'm fine. How are you?"

"I'll be okay." Catherine said, trying to hold back her tears. They hugged again, and both wiped the tears from their eyes, and a smile spread across both their faces. It was pure relief. They had made it. They survived.

* * *

><p>The doctor walked out of the room shaking his head to the nurses at the desk staring at him, searching for an answer. The nurses sighed at the unspoken news, and the doctor spoke up. "Does she have family here?"<p>

"No, she came in on an ambulance. She was with that whole bust thing that went down." The nurse replied.

Nick couldn't help, but over hear their conversation, and jumped up from his seat. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I was one of the CSIs on scene at the bust. Can you inform me with what's going on?"

"Oh, do you know the woman in room seven?"

"I-I don't know. Maybe, I'm not really sure, no one told me who it was in there."

"They said her name was Isela?" The doctor said.

"Okay. What's going on?" Nick asked.

"I'm sorry. She didn't make it." The doctor said somberly.

Nick let out a heavy sigh. He had recognized the name from Lindsey, and he knew he had to tell her. "I'll go tell Lindsey." Nick said to Warrick, and then he entered Catherine's room, where the two of them were still talking. "Knock, knock. Lindsey. Um, the nurse just came out, and told us about Isela."

"What? Is she okay? Can I see her?" Lindsey asked.

"Um, she didn't make it, Lindsey. I'm so sorry."

As soon as the words hit her ears, she fell into her mother's lap, and Catherine held her until the tears began to slow down. Nick let the two be, and left them in the room. Lindsey had known Isela for all of one day, but they had become close in that day. She was the one who had shown Lindsey around, and made her feel as comfortable as she possibly could be. Lindsey was hoping Isela would get out, and not have to spend her last months in that horrible basement. It broke Lindsey's heart when Nick told her the news.

* * *

><p>Catherine spent only one night in the hospital, and was sent home again. This time Simon was away though. Neither Simon, nor any of his friends had made bail. They were all remanded until trial, and everyone was relieved. When they trial came, they charged Simon with assault, domestic abuse, kidnapping, promoting prostitution, sex trafficking, trafficking of minors, drug dealing, and also the murder of Isela. The trial wasn't for months later, and lasted for two weeks. After two grueling weeks of testimony, and re traumatization for most of the girls, along with the cases from both sides, any many different sides to the same story; Simon was finally found guilty, and sentenced to life in prison. He would never see the outside of a cell for the rest of his life.<p>

Catherine, Lindsey, and the team were finally able to breathe again. They had been holding their breath since the day Simon had first hit Catherine, but now it was over, and they breathed a breath of fresh air.

Catherine was able to start a new beginning. The past was behind her, and she was now able to thrive more than she had ever been able to. After hitting her rock bottom, the only way there was to go from there, was up. She had a new outlook on life, and relationships, which ultimately helped her find the man of her dreams. This time, he really was perfect. He was the man of her dreams, and not of her nightmares.

* * *

><p><strong>I hope you guys liked this story. This will be the last chapter, I don't really see where else I could go from here, as I am not good at writing happy stories. I think I have pretty much closed up all the loose ends, but if you still have questions, feel free to PM me, and I'll do my best to answer any questions. I will not answer questions about what happens after the story. Please let me know if you liked this story. Thanks for reading!<strong>


End file.
